# John Burke

> John Burke is the Chicago-based founder and CEO of Merit Holdings, a long-term owner of specialist software businesses. His career spans EY, TCV and operating and board roles at SiteMinder, including CFO in Sydney. He founded Merit in 2021 to acquire and build software companies with a permanent ownership horizon.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Merit Holdings
- **Organizations:** Merit Holdings, Tidemark, TCV, SiteMinder, EY
- **From:** Lake Forest, United States
- **Education:** B.S. in Commerce and Accounting; magna cum laude, Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business, Institute for International Education of Students, Barcelona, Spain
- **Known for:** Founded Merit Holdings in 2021., Served as SiteMinder’s CFO during international expansion., Graduated magna cum laude from Santa Clara University.

## Career timeline

- **2004-2006** — Played guard on Santa Clara University’s men’s basketball team.
- **2008** — Graduated magna cum laude from Santa Clara; began his career at EY.
- **2011** — Joined TCV’s B2B software investment team.
- **2014-2018** — Worked at SiteMinder in Sydney, initially in analytics and subsequently as CFO.
- **2018** — Rejoined TCV.
- **2021** — Founded Merit Holdings; ended his SiteMinder non-executive directorship on October 21.
- **2025** — Merit acquired Inteum and added president and partner Sureel Sheth and growth operator partner Ashley Murphy.
- **2026** — Merit announced the acquisition of FirstIgnite on February 5.

## Achievements

- Founded Merit Holdings in 2021.
- Served as SiteMinder’s CFO during international expansion.
- Graduated magna cum laude from Santa Clara University.
- Shared second place and $3,000 with Santa Clara teammates in a Dole Foods business-plan competition reported in 2008.
- Played on Santa Clara’s men’s basketball team and was a WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll member.

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Announced Sureel Sheth as president and partner of Merit Holdings.
- **2025-09** — Announced Ashley Murphy as growth operator partner.
- **2026-02** — Merit announced its acquisition of FirstIgnite, building on its 2025 Inteum acquisition; the announcement included customary closing conditions.
- **2026-04** — Welcomed Angus Norton as Inteum CEO and thanked Robert Sloman for helping bring him aboard.

## Links

- Website: https://www.meritholdings.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-burke-00439912

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-burke
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09