Optimisa CEO Steps Down

Simon Dannatt, CEO of UK market research group Optimisa, has stepped down from his role to focus on key consulting clients and on business in the US. He is replaced by Non-Executive Chairman Ron Littleboy, and will remain an Executive Director until the end of October.

Director and Company Secretary Jonathan Waters has also resigned from the Board and will leave the firm at the end of July. The firm said that this operational restructure will 'best position' the company in the current trading conditions.

After a career as a consultant with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Dannatt joined marketing consultancy kae: marketing intelligence in 1994 and became its MD in 2000. Following a reverse takeover of Optimisa by kae in 2005, he became CEO of the group.

In a statement, the firm thanked Dannatt and Waters for their 'significant contribution' to Optimisa's growth and wished them both well in the future.

Separately, the company is seeking shareholders' approval to de-list its shares from the AIM (the London Stock Exchange's international market for smaller companies), saying that the costs of remaining AIM-listed significantly outweigh the benefits.

The restructuring of the company and the reorganisation of the Board has delayed the publication of its 2008 accounts, but the Board expects that the accounts will be sent to shareholders by the end of this month.

Last autumn, Optimisa's pre-tax profits plummeted in the first half of the year, with 2nd quarter performance well below budget in all three of its major operating units. At the time, the group predicted tough market conditions for some time.

Earlier, shares in the firm were down 28.07% to 20.5 pence per share.

The Optimisa Group comprises kae: marketing intelligence nxtMOVE, Andrew Irving Associates, and the EQ Group, which includes Buckingham Research Associates, Quaestor Research and Marketing Strategists and Summit Studios.

Web site: www.optimisaplc.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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