New CEO & Mgmt Restructure
DAT Group PLC
03 October 2005
Embargoed. For release at 0700h, 3 October 2005
DAT Group plc/ Synchronica
('DAT' or the 'Group')
Appointment of New Chief Executive Officer and Management Restructuring
London, 3 October 2005 - DAT Group plc, an international developer and provider
of software solutions for mobile device management and synchronization,
announced the appointment of Carsten Brinkschulte as chief executive officer of
the DAT Group and a new management structure and team, following the review of
operations undertaken by the Group over the past three months.
Chief Executive Officer
Carsten, 38 brings over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience in the IT
industry to the position. He founded Synchronica GmbH in January 2004, focusing
on development and licensing of mobile synchronization and device management
software based on the open industry standard SyncML-DS/DM. He won a major deal
with a leading European device manufacturer and established strategic
partnerships with Ergon Informatik AG and Smarttrust. Synchronica was acquired
by DAT in April 2005 and Carsten was appointed to the DAT Board in July 2005.
Before setting up Synchronica, Carsten founded venture-capital funded Weblicon
Technologies AG. Weblicon focused on the development and licensing of personal
information management software for telecom companies, portals and ISPs. At
Weblicon, he recruited a team of 30 developers and sales people and was
responsible for technology development, sales and corporate strategy. He also
promoted the increased use of SyncML technology for wireless synchronisation
with Microsoft Outlook, PDAs and SyncML-enabled mobile phones and launched the
world's first SyncML server in a mobile operator environment.
As well as a strong background in establishing technology-based companies such
as Synchronica, Weblicon and, prior to that, Century Software (a developer of
personal information management software for Macintosh), Carsten has also
provided consultancy to various companies on software development and
implementation. His clients have included SAP, Apple Computer, Olympus Optical,
and Linotype-Hell. He has also lectured frequently on advanced operating system
strategies.
Commenting on the announcement, John Gunn the chairman of DAT said: 'We are
delighted to welcome Carsten as CEO of DAT. He brings with him a wealth of
experience and expertise in launching and leading software companies in the
mobile world. He has a proven leadership style, strong track record in our
industry and immense technological know-how. I am confident that he will be of
great value to the group as we plan the future development of DAT.'
Carsten adds: 'I am delighted to have been appointed CEO at DAT and would like
to take the opportunity to thank the board and DAT shareholders for the trust
they have put in me. After some strategic restructuring, the company is now
moving in the right direction. Under my leadership, DAT will be very focused and
complete the transition toward becoming a truly product-driven and
customer-focused company. DAT has with very competitive technology and an
excellent staff with huge potential. I am confident that we will be able to
translate this into the commercial success DAT deserves, and our shareholders
expect.'
Management Restructuring
The restructured corporate team is built around new Sales, Marketing, Operating,
Financial and Technical officers who will report to the new CEO, Carsten
Brinkschulte. The team will be based at Group headquarters in Sussex, U.K., with
additional support from the offices in the U.S and Germany.
The position of Chief Sales Officer is filled by Bruce Eley, a new appointment,
who will be working to develop well defined sales channels for DAT's various
customers and products. His team will be in charge of international sales,
predominately for the Group's products and also for its range of professional
services. Bruce joins DAT after a career working internationally in the
Aeronautical industry and then directing sales of IT solutions to blue chip
corporations. Since 1998 he has accredited himself in the wireless industry.
Whilst with Allen Telecom he opened an EMEA office rapidly establishing
Comsearch, a division of Allen Telecom, successfully providing mobile network
design solutions in the region, before they were taken over by Andrew
Corporation.
Nicole Meissner has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer and is responsible
for all aspects of marketing, investor and public relations and product
management. The department Nicole is heading will also be responsible for
building strategic alliances in order to develop new and existing sales
channels. Before joining DAT in April this year, Nicole co-founded Synchronica
GmbH, now part of DAT Group. Prior to that, Nicole was vice president of
marketing and product management at ASDIS Software AG and has helped develop
several IT start-ups in her role at venture capital firms. She also formerly
worked as manager of international press and investor relations at Siemens AG.
Allan Jonnes is Chief Financial Officer, responsible for financial planning,
control and reporting as well as customer contract management. On Carsten's
appointment, Allan has relinquished the position of Interim CEO. Allan, a
Chartered Accountant, has significant public company experience and has been
involved with DAT since 2002. He joined the Board in 2004 and together with
Carsten led the review of the Group's operations which resulted in the
restructuring and refocus announced today.
Terry Page, currently director of commercial delivery, has been appointed Chief
Operations Officer. Terry will be responsible for professional services during
the delivery of custom-developed products, customer support and all DAT's IT
requirements. Terry's previous experience includes technical consultancy and
project management for NatWest and BT Cellnet. He joined DAT in 1998 and was
appointed to the Board in July 2005.
Back in his role as Group Chief Technical Officer, Tim Carmichael will be
working to extend and evolve the Group's technical resources. He will now be
responsible for two development teams: product development and professional
services. Tim has spent his entire career in the IT industry and co-founded DAT
in 1996.
Commenting on the restructuring, John Gunn, Chairman, said: 'Carsten's new
executive team has both the experience and the enthusiasm to drive the refocused
business forward. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank everyone in the
Group who was involved in the review process, particularly the Interim CEO Allan
Jonnes, for their hard work and enthusiasm which has resulted in a business able
to take full advantage of its very significant opportunities. I am pleased with
the progress we are making to address our problems.'
For more information please visit www.datgroup.com or contact:
Carsten Brinkschulte Nicole Meissner, CMO
DAT Group plc DAT Group plc
Tel: +49 172 88 72 758 Office: +49 30 616 75 650
Mobile: +49 173 606 91 60
Simon Hudson / Clemmie Carr
Tavistock Communications
Tel: +44 20 7920 3150
Notes to Editors
About DAT Group plc
DAT Group plc focuses on mobile management solutions for operators, device
manufacturers, retailers and enterprises. The company offers a varied product
portfolio ranging from data synchronization (DS) to device management (DM),
firmware updates over-the-air (FOTA) and mobile device management (Enterprise
Assistant). DAT has unique expertise in smart devices across all platforms based
on its over-the-air (OTA) delivery platform. Based in the UK, the company also
has offices in Germany and the U.S. DAT is a public company listed on the London
Stock Exchange. More information about DAT is available at www.datgroup.com
About Synchronica
Synchronica focuses on SyncML synchronization and device management solutions
for mobile operators, device manufacturers, and enterprises. The company offers
a complete SyncML product portfolio ranging from data synchronization (DS) to
device management (DM) and firmware update over-the-air (FOTA). Synchronica has
a strong track record in the SyncML space, including the launch of the world's
first SyncML DM FOTA server with a leading European device manufacturer. The
Synchronica SyncML Gateway provides over-the-air synchronization of
SyncML-enabled mobile phones with corporate Microsoft Exchange servers. More
information is available at www.synchronica.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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