Market data company Iress Ltd (ASX: IRE) has appointed Andrew Russell as its new chief executive and managing director, which brokers see as a positive for the stock.
Mr Russell will replace current managing director Marcus Price, who has been with the company since 2022 and, according to Iress chair Roger Sharp, "has delivered a pivotal turnaround project for Iress, sharpening our focus, divesting non-core businesses and restoring the balance sheet".
Mr Sharp said the next phase for the company would be "intensely product and client-focused, and we are very pleased to have appointed a leader as experienced as Andrew in this domain".
"Andrew is an experienced CEO with a proven track record in delivering shareholder value and building trusted relationships with clients, investors and employees," Mr Sharp said.
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More about new CEO
Mr Russell's two most recent roles were leading technology company Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) and Class Limited, which was acquired by Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) in 2022.
"At Bravura Solutions, he restored profitability and developed a culture of growth through innovation," Iress said in a statement to the ASX.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Russell said:
I'm excited to join Iress at such a pivotal time for the business and the broader wealth technology sector.
Iress has achieved a market-leading position by developing trusted technology platforms and long-standing client relationships, and my focus will be to capitalise on the strong position Iress finds itself in following the strategic transformation program the Board and management team have led over the past two years.
I see enormous opportunities to innovate, grow and deliver greater value in the years ahead. I look forward to joining the Iress team and meeting the company's shareholders, people and clients.
E&P Capital said in a note to clients that the appointment was positive for the stock. It valued the company at $10.01, compared with the share price of $9.03, up 6.7% on Thursday.
We see this update as a positive given Mr Russell is very well regarded by small cap investors. He delivered a very solid outcome at Class where he expanded the total addressable market (Class had been seen as ex growth prior to him joining) by buying into the document management space and extracted a significant premium in a scrip transaction with HUB24.
At Bravura he entered the company in Feb 2023 when the company was deeply unprofitable and had had to do a deeply discounted rights issue.
He stabilised critical client relationships, introduced much improved information systems, renegotiated contracts, extracted tens of millions of costs and managed to get the business to making high teen cash EBITDA margins as at FY25.
There may be some concern that a new CEO may rebase earnings, but we'd suggest that his recent track record should give investors comfort that he will be able to find new growth opportunities and further optimise profitability at Iress.
