Ascend Partners Joins Forces with Pigment to Scale AI-Driven Enterprise Decision-Making

Partnership brings finance, revenue, HR, and supply chain planning onto a single AI-powered foundation, giving enterprise leaders one connected way to plan and adapt.

NEW YORK CITY, NY - October 1, 2026 - Ascend Partners (Ascend), a leading EPM advisory firm, today announced its partnership with Pigment, an AI-native planning and performance management platform designed to help organizations adapt quickly as conditions change. Through this partnership, Ascend clients gain access to a platform built to support enterprise-wide strategic planning, connecting finance, operations, sales, and workforce planning in a single environment.

Backed by more than a decade of EPM delivery experience, Ascend helps organizations make better decisions through connected planning. Pigment brings finance-grade planning capabilities to revenue, sales, HR, and supply chain teams, combining AI-powered forecasting and scenario modeling to drive alignment, agility, and smarter decision-making across the business. Together, the partnership gives clients a single, connected planning environment spanning finance and every core business function.

"We're seeing more and more companies treat planning as a discipline that spans the entire enterprise, not something that lives in finance alone," said Peter Popalis, Co-Founder of Ascend Partners. "The team over at Pigment hasn't just tapped into that demand, but has established itself as a leader in defining what modern enterprise planning can look like."

"Pigment has built a platform that brings the same planning ethos finance teams already rely on to other core functions of the business," said Colin Sawford, Co-Founder of Ascend Partners. "This gives our clients a single, consistent way to apply that same intelligence no matter which part of the business they're planning for."

Enterprises today face more uncertainty and more interconnected planning needs than ever, from workforce shifts to supply chain disruption to revenue forecasting. As organizations look to bring that same planning discipline to revenue forecasting, workforce strategy and supply chain resilience, demand is growing for platforms that can extend it across the business. This partnership responds directly to that shift, giving clients a single platform to support planning across every team.

"As organizations evaluate and adopt Pigment, having a partner like Ascend -with proven depth across finance, sales, revenue, HR, and operations-makes all the difference," said Katie Ecklund, SVP Global Partnerships and Alliances at Pigment. "Their cross-functional skill set ensures teams throughout the business can plan with the same speed and confidence, no matter how fast conditions change."

Looking ahead, Ascend sees this as another step in its evolution into a multi-platform advisory, expanding its ability to guide clients across the full range of technologies shaping modern enterprise planning. Ascend looks forward to being on-site as a sponsor of Pigment Catalyst New York on November 18, 2026, where the partnership will be showcased live to finance and planning leaders. To learn about Pigment's planning platform and AI capabilities, visit the Pigment website.

About Ascend Partners
Ascend Partners is a recognized leader in financial & data transformation solutions and proudly serves clients globally from our headquarters in New York, NY. We specialize in delivering sophisticated solutions that streamline financial workflows, transform data, and enhance operational efficiency for organizations worldwide.

Contact Information

Lisa Yurkiw
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
lisa@ascend.partners
+1 (647) 957-6000