GeoOp appoints Anna Cicognani as acting head after incoming Ben Foote resigns

Tuesday 24th February 2015

GeoOp has appointed Anna Cicognani as acting chief executive, after newly appointed Ben Foote was unable to take the role as head of the small business app developer due to family complications.

The Auckland based company announced Foote as the incoming chief executive at the end of last month, replacing outgoing Leanne Graham, who is moving to the US to take up the position of executive strategic advisor for GeoOp in the US. Complications with Foote's new baby has made moving to New Zealand from Sydney "unfeasible", the company said in a statement.

Cicognani will begin her role as acting chief executive next week. She has a background in digital technology including at Fairfax, APN News and Media and Telstra and is currently chief information officer at the Australian Institute of Management. Based in Sydney she will divide her time between Auckland and Australia.

GeoOp said it will update the market to any additional information, without saying whether it would keep looking for another chief executive.

In December, GeoOp said its first half loss widened to $2.7 million from $1.6 million a year earlier even though its revenue surged 206 percent. The company is foregoing short term profitability in a bid to capture market share in the growing reliance on smart phones, where its app can help small and medium sized enterprises manage remote workforces.

The company raised $10 million at $1 a share in a private offer before listing on the NZAX in October 2013. The shares last traded at 56 cents, and have climbed 51 percent so far this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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