Go Daddy Poaches an Executive From K.K.R., as Company Eyes Growth

When Scott Wagner stepped up as the Go Daddy Group’s interim chief executive last summer, he viewed the move as temporary. He already had a day job, as a senior executive at an arm of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

But nine months later, he has changed his mind.

Mr. Wagner instead will leave the private equity firm to join Go Daddy full time as its chief operating officer and chief financial officer, he told DealBook in an interview.

“This is part of the extended family,” Mr. Wagner said. “It’s just a nice second step.”

It’s a little unusual for a private equity executive to leave for a position at one of his firm’s portfolio companies. Mr. Wagner has worked for K.K.R.’s Capstone unit for 13 years, both advising the buyout shop’s companies and sometimes temporarily filling in positions.

His latest assignment was filling in as Go Daddy’s chief executive last year, following the resignation of Warren Adelman. He had already focused on expanding the Internet registrar’s international operations, particularly in India.

The move was one of the latest spurred on by Go Daddy’s owners, K.K.R., Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures. Mr. Wagner said that the company had grown since the leveraged buyout, reporting $1.3 billion in sales last year, up from $1.1 billion in the last fiscal year before its leveraged buyout in mid-2011.

But soon after bringing in Blake Irving as Go Daddy’s new leader late last year, Mr. Wagner began to consider staying on at the Internet company on a fulltime basis. The two already agreed on a broader vision: filling in small business’ Internet needs, from designing Web sites to setting up their e-mail and backoffice services.

It also meant continuing moving Go Daddy beyond its current image, built largely on provocative advertising with scantily clad spokeswomen like racecar driver Danica Patrick. Mr. Irving said in an interview that the company was looking for a different image, less reliant on “too hot for TV” commercials.

“It’s an evolution of a company that understands its customer better,” he said. “When 58 percent of small businesses in the U.S. are run by women, you have to change the advertising so it’s more appropriate.”

At a dinner at Kierland Commons in Go Daddy’s hometown of Scottsdale, Ariz., Mr. Irving brought up the idea of a tighter partnership. By that point, the idea of staying on permanently seemed almost natural.

“We started finishing each other’s sentences,” Mr. Wagner said. he later added, “I remember telling my wife that he’s the perfect match.”

And over the next several weeks, the two found a working rhythm, with Mr. Irving focusing on strategy and new products and Mr. Wagner on keeping the company running.

Though leaving K.K.R. was difficult, deciding to stay on at Go Daddy made sense. And the feeling appears to be mutual.

“As one of our first operationally-focused executives, Scott has been instrumental in building K.K.R. Capstone into a global value creation resource for our private equity portfolio companies,” Dean Nelson, Capstone’s head, said in a statement.

“We are grateful to Scott for his many contributions to K.K.R. and our portfolio companies and we look forward to working with him in his continued capacity at Go Daddy.”