Executive Leadership

Lou Paglia is Chief Executive Officer of KLDiscovery, a global leader in eDiscovery, compliance, and data management solutions. Mr. Paglia has more than two decades of experience in leading and scaling high growth companies across several industries. Prior to KLDiscovery, Mr. Paglia held executive leadership roles at Sterling Check, an industry-leading global provider of background screening and identity verification solutions. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, Sterling experienced transformative growth leading to an initial public offering in 2021 and its acquisition by First Advantage in 2024.

Prior to Sterling, Mr. Paglia held executive roles in product, operations and general management at various companies including MTV Networks (a division of Viacom), Infogroup, Factiva (a joint venture between Dow Jones and Reuters), as well several early-stage companies.

Mr. Paglia received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Computer Information Systems from James Madison University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from MIT's Sloan School of Management.   

Barry Capoot is the Chief Financial Officer of KLDiscovery, having joined the company in August 2025. He is a seasoned financial executive with over 25 years of experience leading finance organizations across the software and technology-enabled services sectors. Barry brings deep expertise in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and scaling high-growth businesses.

Prior to joining KLDiscovery, Barry served as Chief Financial Officer at several organizations, most recently with Exabeam (formerly LogRhythm), a leading cybersecurity software company and a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo. Earlier in his career, he spent a decade in investment banking, specializing in M&A, which provided him with a strong foundation in strategic financial planning and deal execution.

Barry holds a BA from Northwestern University, an MS from DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 

Julian Merschen is the Chief Product Officer of KLDiscovery, having joined the company in November 2025. He is a seasoned product and technology executive with over 15 years of experience leading product, engineering, and AI organizations across ecommerce, finance, and education sectors. Julian brings deep expertise in AI applications, data intensive and large-scale systems, and building products at the intersection of technology and business strategy for a broad set of customers.

Prior to joining KLDiscovery, Julian served as Chief Technology Officer at Nerdy, an education technology company, where he led Product, Engineering, UX, and AI teams. Before that, he led the product team at Bridgewater Associates responsible for the research platform that enables investors to research, build, and execute macroeconomic models. Earlier in his career, Julian spent eight years at Amazon in various product leadership roles, including leading Amazon's Choice (a worldwide recommendation system), Amazon Business, and the end-to-end shopping journey on Alexa for grocery ordering.

Julian holds a BSc in Mathematics and Economics, an MSc in Applicable Mathematics, and a PhD in Mathematics from the London School of Economics. 

Mr. Balthaser joined KLDiscovery in May of 2011 as a Software Developer. In that role, he was responsible for optimising and maintaining all the existing company software focused around processing, review and custom client demands as well as developing innovative solutions using advanced technologies. While working as a Team Lead, Manager, and then Director at KLDiscovery, he was tasked with the growth and development of the Engineering Department.

In 2019, Mr. Balthaser was promoted to Executive Vice President of Engineering. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing software development and software quality assurance for all applications produced by KLDiscovery. Mr. Balthaser holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Computer Forensics and received his Certified Ethical Hacker (“CEH”) certification in 2014. 

Mr. Southam joined KLDiscovery in March 2017 as Head of Legal for EMEA and APAC and was promoted to General Counsel in September 2017. Mr. Southam is an English qualified lawyer and is based in London. As General Counsel, he is responsible for all legal aspects of the business including compliance, M&A and litigation.

Mr. Southam trained at the London office of DLA Piper, one of the world’s largest law firms, before qualifying into the Technology and Media Group in 2003. He spent four years advising clients on IP/IT legal issues before moving in-house in 2007 at the advertising group, Bartle Bogle Hegarty. He became Legal Director and a Partner at Bartle Bogle Hegarty prior to its sale to Publicis in June 2012. Mr. Southam joined the NetNames Group, a domain name and brand protection service company, in June 2013 following its acquisition by HG Capital. In his role as General Counsel, he oversaw two acquisitions and the subsequent sale of the business in July 2016 to Corporation Service Company, a Delaware based provider of business solutions.

Mr. Southam holds a Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice from the University of Bristol and undertook his Legal Practice Course at Nottingham Law School.