Wynyard continues with board changes, hires former NZME exec Phil Eustace as interim CFO

Wynyard Group [NZX: WYN] is continuing with its boardroom refresh with two new appointments including New Zealand Venture Investment Fund chief Richard Dellabarca as deputy chair, while separately tapping former NZME Publishing executive Phil Eustace as interim chief financial officer.

The Auckland-based intelligence software developer appointed Dellabarca and former NextWindow executive Martin Riegel to its board as interim directors, Wynyard said in a statement. That will fill the vacant slot left by Murray Horn's departure, and replace Richard Twigg, who will retire at next month's annual meeting after sitting on the board since Wynyard's inception .

"The Wynyard board bench strength has been bolstered with deep, relevant technology and market expertise to provide mentoring and support to executives," chairman Guy Haddleton said. "This couple with strong governance, risk management, and regulatory expertise will further help shape Wynyard's future performance."

Twigg's exit leaves just Haddleton and managing director Craig Richardson on the board from Wynyard's formation with Susan Peterson not seeking re-election at next month's meeting.

Separately, the company said NZME's former chief operating officer Eustace has taken over as the software developer's interim CFO, replacing Murray Page whose resignation is effective from today. Eustace had been APN News & Media's New Zealand finance director prior to his COO appointment in the NZME restructure.

Wynyard has reorganised its sales and marketing and product development operations to align with its two service lines - advanced crime analytics and investigations case management for government clients, and advanced cyber threat analytics and risk management software for commercial customers - to allocate its resources more effectively, and has tapped London-based chief operating officer Paul Stokes to lead the change, appointing him senior vice president of the commercial line of business.

The company's shares last traded at 71 cents and have dropped 60 percent this year. This week Wynyard was queried over a 21 percent slump over a two-week period, though it had nothing to disclose.

(BusinessDesk)