Board Changes

RNS Number : 9038K

Merit Group PLC

07 September 2021

 

7 September 2021

Merit Group plc

("Merit", the "Company" or "the Group")

Board Changes

Merit Group plc (AIM: MRIT), the data and intelligence business, announces the following changes to its Board of Directors:

· Following his appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") on 13 July 2021, David Beck has been appointed as CEO of Merit Group and will be joining the Board with immediate effect.

· Simon Bullock, who joined the Group as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") in March 2020, has informed the Board of his decision to step down from his role with the Company. The intention is for Simon to remain with the business to ensure a smooth handover with his successor, he will leave the Company before the end of January 2022.

· Further to the above, the Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Philip Machray as CFO. He will join the Company in October and will subsequently be appointed to the Board. ACA qualified, Phil is a strategic and commercial finance professional with over 25 years' experience in the media sector, most recently as Director of Corporate Development with Reach plc.

· Cornelius Conlon, a Director of the Company and Managing Director of Merit Data & Technology has been appointed to the additional role of Chief Technology Officer.

Mark Smith, Chairman of Merit Group plc, commented;

"David Beck has been working with the Group since the early part of the year and took on the Interim CEO role in July. David has been helping to further develop and communicate the Group's strategy, the Board is very pleased to welcome him to the Group as CEO.

"Simon Bullock, who joined the Group as CFO in 2020, has decided to leave the Group. The Board would like to extend its thanks to Simon for his contribution and professionalism throughout his time with the Company. We are fortunate to have identified a strong candidate in Philip Machray who will join us in October before Simon leaves. Philip has a strong and relevant track record working in businesses that have successfully digitalised their business models.  

"Central to the Group's strategy is the use of our proprietary technology and Artificial Intelligence to gather and enhance complex and hard to acquire data. In appointing Cornelius Conlon to the additional role of CTO the Board is recognising the central part technology will play in the future development of the Group.

"David, Philip and Cornelius, along with Munira Ibrahim, Managing Director of Dods, make up a strong executive team. The Board has great confidence in their ability to deliver growth in our business and excellent returns for our shareholders ."

Pursuant to Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the Company discloses the following details in relation to the above appointments:

Mr David Clive Beck, aged 59, holds and has previously held the following directorships within the last 5 years:

Current Directorships	Former Directorships (in the last 5 years)
Tribal Sports Nutrition Ltd	Bell Pottinger LLP Bell Pottinger (Services) Ltd Bell Pottinger Private Ltd Bell Pottinger Pte Ltd (Singapore) Bell Pottinger Bahrain Co S.P.C.

Companies that went into liquidation or administration whilst David Beck was a director:

Bell Pottinger LLP appointed administrators on 26 September 2017 and entered liquidation on 27 September 2019

Bell Pottinger (Services) Ltd appointed administrators on 25 September 2017 and was dissolved following liquidation on 7 January 2020

Bell Pottinger Private Ltd appointed administrators on 25 September 2017 and entered liquidation on 26 September 2019

Bell Pottinger Bahrain was liquidated on 31 January 2018

Mr Philip James Machray, aged 50, holds and has previously held the following directorships within the last 5 years:

Current Directorships	Former Directorships (in the last 5 years)
Digitalbox plc	Brand Events TM Limited Gourmet Picture Company Limited Pub In The Park Limited Keswick Mountain Festival Limited Homerenter Limited Funfui Limited Pools Gaming Limited Independent Star Limited (Republic of Ireland)

There is no further information to be disclosed in relation to David Beck and Philip Machray's appointments pursuant to AIM Rule 17 or paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies.

For further information, please contact: 

Merit Group plc

Mark Smith - Non-Executive Chairman  020 7593 5500

David Beck - CEO

www.meritgroupplc.com

Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nomad and Broker)

Bobbie Hilliam    020 7523 8150

Georgina McCooke

 

END

 

 

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