Read the story of how Bart McDonough built and successfully exited Agio, a cybersecurity and managed-services company.
Agio timeline
Origins
How It Started
Agio's story starts with its founder and CEO, Bart McDonough. He had intentions of being a lawyer, a finance guy, or a…well, you get the idea. But in reality? He did — and has always done — technology. He fixes technology. He introduces people to new ways of doing things with technology. And he's been doing it since he was a kid.
My vision to make secure, reliable, resilient systems is literally what I've done since I was a kid.
Bart McDonough, CEO
2008
Mind the Gap
Bart is working at SAC. The plan is for him to move to the UK, lead the SAC office there, and then move on to Hong Kong to lead that office. Those plans fizzle when the financial crisis hits. SAC decides to "go to cash" and get out of the market until things calm down, but their technology costs remain high. Can they outsource their IT?
2025
Acquisition by Netrio
The most defining event for Agio after 2021 was its acquisition. In May 2025, Agio was acquired by Netrio, a leading Managed Service Provider (MSP). The acquisition was designed to expand Netrio's cybersecurity capabilities and footprint in the financial services sector.
2023
Industry Insights & Thought Leadership
Agio continued to release authoritative reports on the state of IT and security in the financial sector.
2022
Innovation & Awards
Agio focused on validating its "hybrid" model of combining cybersecurity with managed IT.
2022
2022 Hedge Fund Managed IT Trends Report
Published the "2022 Hedge Fund Managed IT Trends Report", revealing that 91% of firms outsourcing IT were looking to switch providers due to a lack of public cloud expertise and poor support responsiveness.
2023
2023 Hedge Fund Cybersecurity Trends Report
Published the "2023 Hedge Fund Cybersecurity Trends Report". Key findings included a significant surge in cyberattacks against firms that "insourced" their cybersecurity, with 77% of such firms reporting increased attack frequency. The report highlighted a major industry shift toward outsourcing cyber programs to combat hybrid work vulnerabilities.
2008
The Opportunity
Bart talks to providers and realizes the big guys could do the job, but they didn't understand the hedge fund industry. On the flip side, traditional hedge fund tech providers didn't know how to manage large organizations. There's a gap. The market needs a technology provider that can provide enterprise-level support but in a way that understands the culture and the technology demands of a large hedge fund.
I get very excited about solving problems via technology and making businesses work better through technology. For me, Agio was a natural progression. To have any other vision outside of that would be inauthentic.
Bart McDonough, CEO
2025
GenAI Integration
As part of the acquisition, Netrio announced plans to leverage AgioNow, Agio's proprietary AI-powered service delivery platform, to enhance customer support and automation across the combined entity.
2025
Strategic Vision
The merger aimed to create a dominant MSP for small-to-mid-market enterprises, combining Agio's deep expertise in highly regulated financial industries with Netrio's broader infrastructure.
2023
2023 Hedge Fund Managed IT Trends Report
Released the "2023 Hedge Fund Managed IT Trends Report", which identified rising costs and high staff turnover as primary drivers forcing hedge funds to rethink their IT management strategies.
2009
The Rumbling of an Idea
Bart leaves SAC to start BartCo (as opposed to the more generic NewCo). As his thoughts and plans mature into the Agio business plan, Bart knows clear expectations for both the company and its people are critical to success. A phrase you'll often hear is The Agio Way. The Agio Way is to be respectful, professional, and communicative and extend a helping hand whenever it's needed.
2022
Most Innovative Technology Firm
Named "Most Innovative Technology Firm" for the second consecutive year at the HFM U.S. Technology Awards. This award recognized Agio's work in modernizing the MSP model through automation and AI.
2022
Stellar Cyber Case Study
Featured in a case study by Stellar Cyber, highlighting the effectiveness of bundling Extended Detection and Response (XDR) with Managed IT services to reduce remediation times for vulnerabilities.
2010
BartCo Becomes Agio
How did the first year go? Like most new businesses, there was a lot of learning and a shift in expectations. Inspired by Netflix's popular cultural deck, Bart writes the beta version of what later becomes the Agio Culture Book, the quintessential guide for who Agio is as a high-performing organization and what it expects from its people.
2010
The Meaning Behind the Name
The Italian word "Agio" means a premium that's the value add to a transaction. Because this new firm will work with companies doing transactions—whether it's a single trading stock transaction or buying and selling companies—Agio fits the bill. Our company, Agio, is the value add that was missing in 2008.
2011-2012
Systems Are Go
Agio launches a customized proprietary ticketing platform to help service and scale with our clients.
2011-2012
A Commitment to Culture
Until now, Agio had one very large client and many smaller clients, which was terrific. Except it started to feel less like a service company and more like a group of people built to service a single client (the largest one). It was time for a shift back to being a company. Agio becomes more intentional with its choices, which leads to a more deliberate culture.
2013
Enter Cybersecurity
Agio acquires Secure Enterprise Computing to improve our depth around cybersecurity. We now have an improved, tested methodology to systematically measure and assess firms' cyber risk.
2013
Growth. Engagement. Loyalty.
You don't hear too many business leaders say this, but there was a point where Agio became too profitable. We had onboarded so many new clients that our margins went too high. We quickly realized we hadn't invested in the right staffing and resources to keep up with the new demand. What we learned is that you can have values and metrics around profitability, health, customer service and employees, but they can't stand on their own. They really need to be in coordination with each other. This led us to GEL, our three-legged stool.
2014
Kudos
We've been working hard, and it shows. Agio lands on the Inc. 5000 list.
2014
New Products
Agio launches its Private Cloud to prepare clients for the eventual adoption of the public cloud. We implement Managed Detection & Response (MDR) to round out our existing cybersecurity protection services.
2015
Formalizing Learning Culture
Our Art of Service culture requires employees to create their own brilliance. That happens when we take care of the basics—like making sure everyone has what they need at their fingertips so they don't have to hunt for it. Agio Academy and other tools push the information to them. The Agio Academy also addresses another essential part of our culture: continual learning.
I think learning and education are incredibly important. When I thought about what would make our people successful, I knew I wanted to dedicate resources to make sure Agio is fostering a learning culture.
Bart McDonough, CEO
2016-2017
Welcome to the Public Cloud
Agio migrates to Office 365 and demonstrates the reliability and security of the public cloud. Months later, we launch Managed Azure for clients who want to follow in our footsteps.
2016-2017
A New Industry
Agio Healthcare Cybersecurity 360 is officially introduced to the market to provide in-house expertise to firms with healthcare strategies.
2018
Diversity Makes Us All Better
Agio officially has more women in cybersecurity than men. In a field traditionally dominated by men, this is an important milestone not just for Agio but the industry as a whole.
2018
Agio Gives Back is Born
Employees are given 32 hours of VTO (Volunteer Time Off) each year to give back to their communities. Empowering team members to pursue causes they care about strengthens both our culture and our communities.
2019
Meeting Demand
Cybersecurity is becoming more and more important to regulators, investors, and stakeholders. To prepare clients to handle anything that comes their way, we add three new services to our portfolio: Phishing Protection, Technical Testing, and SEC Cybersecurity Mock Audit.
2020
The Curveball
We all know what happens next. The global pandemic forces businesses to transition to work-from-home models. For many—especially in the financial services industry—this is a first. As the role of the CTO becomes front and center, clients rely heavily on Agio to lead their digital transformation and make sure remote-work setups are secure, efficient, and cost-effective.
2021
Disruption
In collaboration with Point72 Hyperscale, Agio unveils a tech-enabled service offering that leverages the best of AI, machine learning, and human interaction.
The result is a frictionless service that reduces issues, increases speed to resolution, and makes clients smarter, all to allow clients to spend more time focused on their work and less time worrying about IT.