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Greg Sarafin
Chief Partner Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, Board Advisor, Thought Leader, currently EY Global Vice Chair - Partner Ecosystem
Greg Sarafin is a prominent executive in the field of partnerships and alliances, currently serving as the Global Managing Partner - Alliance Ecosystem at Ernst & Young (EY). In this role, he oversees the strategy and enablement of EY's Alliance Partner Ecosystem, which has significantly contributed to the firm's growth, accounting for 40% of EY's growth over the past six years and generating over $8 billion in revenue during that period.136
Career Background
Before joining EY in 2015, Sarafin had a notable career at IBM, where he held various leadership roles, including Vice President of Global Business Services and Managing Partner for Banking and Financial Markets. He also worked at BearingPoint, leading their Financial Services Technology Strategy and Advisory practice, and founded a venture-backed startup in the healthcare payments sector.136
Contributions and Expertise
Sarafin is recognized as a thought leader on ecosystem partnerships, frequently sharing insights on how strategic alliances can drive business transformation and value creation. His expertise encompasses technology implementation, organizational leadership, and the dynamics of successful partnerships.14 He has also been featured in podcasts discussing the role of Chief Partner Officers and the importance of ecosystems in modern business.25
Education
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, which underpins his technical acumen in driving innovative partnership strategies within large organizations.36
Outside of his professional endeavors, Sarafin is known for his interests in travel, food, and family, being a devoted father to three adult children.3
Highlights
It’s a beautiful night in Atlanta and towns all around us are celebrating #Independence Day with family, friends, food, fun, and firworks. Happy 248th Birthday USA! I’m #grateful this is my home and my country.
It is late on a Friday at our One Manhattan West office. It is eerily empty, and also a bit melancholy for me. This is not just another Friday. It is my last day as a Partner with EY. I started here a little over nine years ago. I was already 32 years into a career that began when I was in college selling IT outsourcing and custom application development to SMBs to pay the bills. EY was the fifth major milestone in my professional journey, and there will be at least two more assuming my mind and body are willing.
Technically I am not leaving. I will continue on in role a bit longer as a non-Partner to lean in with our team to help pivot our Partner Ecosystem into the new EY “All In” strategy we just publicly announced. So why the sense of loss?
It turns out there is something special about being one of 14K partners spanning a network of over 160 countries. I would not have thought so coming in from a large corporate tech company, but the feeling of being part of something we all collectively own with shared risk and shared reward is quite extraordinary. And when those Partners, and 400K people that make up the enteprise, are consistently excellent and culturally aligned - it is magic.
It has been an honor and a privilege to have been a small part of a massive force for economic and social good that dates back one-and-half centuries. I cannot begin to thank everyone I have worked with over the years, but I do want to thank some of the people who brought me here a decade ago: Hank, Michael, Raj, Hyong, John, and the late great Clayton Baker. I also want to thank the global executive team that put their trust in me to take us on our Partners Ecosystem growth journey: Jay, Andy, Steve, Marna, Errol, and Carmine. And I want to thank my great colleagues on our Global Markets Leadership Team: Hanne, Sam, Walter, Ryan, Paul, Erika, Craig, Kenneth, Oliver, and Darren.
Finally, thank you to our incredible global #EYEcosystems team: Kelly, Kathy, Jim, Justine, Mark, John, Paul, Bruce, Johnny, Frank, Rich, Scott, Stephanie, Jens, Anindo, Brian, and so many more. It has been my great honor to work with all of you to create such great impact.
Though I will be back at it on Monday, it won’t quite be the same. I will genuinely miss belonging to the greatest partnership in the world.
