REG - Bytes Technology Grp - Appointment of CEO and non-executive directors

Bytes TechnologyAnnouncement

10/05/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240510:nRSJ8828Na&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 8828N  Bytes Technology Group PLC  10 May 2024

10 May 2024

 

Bytes Technology Group plc

("BTG" or "the Company")

 

Appointment of CEO and non-executive directors

 

Bytes Technology Group plc, one of the UK's leading software, security and
cloud services specialists, is pleased to confirm the appointment of Sam Mudd
as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and the appointment of two Independent
Non-Executive Directors to the Board.

 

CEO appointment

 

The Board of BTG has appointed Sam Mudd as CEO with immediate effect,
following a selection process led by Chair, Patrick De Smedt, with support
from a leading external search firm. Sam brings over 20 years' experience in
leadership positions and has served on the BTG Board as an Executive Director
since July 2023, and was appointed interim CEO in February 2024.

 

For the past ten years, Sam has been Managing Director of Phoenix Software
Limited ("Phoenix"), acquired by BTG in 2017, where she has overseen an
extended period of strong organic growth which has contributed materially to
BTG's success. She joined Phoenix in November 2003, having previously held
senior roles at WordPerfect, Novell Inc., and Trustmarque Solutions.

 

Audit Committee Chair appointment

 

Ross Paterson has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director and
Chair of the Audit Committee of the Company, with effect from 1 June 2024.

 

Ross is a qualified Chartered Accountant and brings extensive listed company
Board experience as a Chief Financial Officer and Non-Executive Director. Ross
spent more than 23 years at Stagecoach Group Limited (formerly Stagecoach
Group plc and listed until 2022) in senior executive finance positions,
including 10 years as Chief Financial Officer.

 

Ross is currently a Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Audit and Risk
Committee, and member of the Remuneration, Sustainability and Nomination
Committees at FTSE100 The Unite Group plc, as well as being a Non-Executive
Director and Audit Committee Chair Designate at AIM-listed technology
business, Tracsis plc.

 

On appointment, Ross will also join BTG's Nomination and Remuneration
Committees, at which date Erika Schraner will step down as Interim Chair of
the Audit Committee, but will remain as a member of the committee.

 

Independent Non-Executive Director appointment

 

The Company also announces the appointment of Anna Vikström Persson as an
Independent Non-Executive Director, with effect from 1 June 2024. Anna will
join the BTG Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees on appointment.

 

Anna was previously Chief Human Resources Officer for Pearson plc and
Executive Vice President, Head of Human Resources at Sandvik AB and SSAB AB.
She also held senior Human Resources roles at Ericsson Group and was an
Independent Non-Executive Director at Knowit AB. She holds a Masters in Law as
well as professional HR qualifications from both London Business School and
Michigan Business School. Anna currently serves as an Independent
Non-Executive Director of Videndum plc.

 

Anna will bring significant experience to the Board to strengthen its
strategic oversight of diversity, equity and inclusion ("DEI"). Together with
other members of the new ESG Committee set out below, Anna will support the
executive team, who are committed to working on these important areas for a
high-performance culture as BTG continues to grow.

 

In accordance with paragraphs 9.6.13R (1) to (6) of the Listing Rules, it is
confirmed that there are no further details to be disclosed in relation to the
above appointments.

 

Formation of ESG Committee

 

The Company also announces that the Board is establishing an ESG Committee,
with effect from 1 June 2024. The members of the Committee, all Independent
Non-Executive Directors, will be Anna Vikström Persson (Chair of the
Committee), Patrick De Smedt, Erika Schraner, Ross Paterson and Shruthi
Chindalur.  The Committee has been constituted to monitor the execution of
BTG's ESG and sustainability strategy and to provide input to the Board and
other Board committees on these matters.

 

The establishment of an ESG Committee is a natural evolution of the Company's
governance arrangements, with its mandate encompassing i) the ongoing focus on
the Company's climate transition strategy, including its commitment to
achieving net-zero emissions ii) addressing matters concerning employees,
including DEI at all levels within BTG, as well as considerations related to
customers, partners and communities, and iii) overseeing the Company's
business conduct, including corporate and commercial governance, business
ethics, anti-bribery and corruption measures, and data privacy and security.

 

The Committee's terms of reference will be available at www.bytesplc.com
(http://www.bytesplc.com) on 1 June 2024.

 

Results date, and Investigation update

 

The Company expects to confirm the release date for its preliminary results
for the financial year ended 29 February 2024 shortly. The Board also expects
to have concluded its previously announced investigation into the resignation
of former CEO Neil Murphy ahead of the preliminary results and will update the
market on its findings as applicable.

 

Patrick De Smedt, BTG Chair, said: "The Board is delighted to confirm Sam as
CEO. Her knowledge of our business, our customers and our vendors is second to
none. As Interim CEO and in her previous role as Managing Director of Phoenix,
Sam has demonstrated her natural ability as a leader and her ambition to take
BTG forward. The Board agreed that she was the outstanding candidate for the
role and we are all looking forward to continuing to work closely with her to
capitalise on the significant opportunity ahead.

 

We are also delighted to welcome Ross and Anna to the BTG Board. They each
bring a wealth of highly valuable experience that will complement and enhance
the existing expertise within the Board. I wish to extend our appreciation to
Erika for assuming the role of Interim Chair of the Audit Committee, as she
continues in this position until the end of the month."

 

Sam Mudd, BTG CEO, said: "I am very excited to be appointed as BTG's new CEO.
What has become even clearer in the past few months is the strength of our
relationships with customers and the depth of our vendor partnerships. All of
this is underpinned by the quality of our people, who I truly believe are some
of the best in the industry. It's an honour to lead them and the wider Company
in its next chapter."

 

 

Enquiries:

 

WK
Groenewald

Group Company Secretary

Bytes Technology Group plc

 

Tel: +44 (0)1372 418992

 

Headland Consultancy
Stephen Malthouse

Henry Wallers

Jack Gault

 

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3805 4822

Email: bytes@headlandconsultancy.com

 

The Company has a primary listing on the Main Market of the London Stock
Exchange and a secondary

listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  BOAZZGGKRLMGDZM