Directorate Change

RNS Number : 4592X

Mirriad Advertising PLC

30 April 2019

 

30 April 2019

John Pearson to succeed Roger Faxon as Chairman of Mirriad as strategic refocus gathers pace

Mirriad Advertising plc ('Mirriad'), the computer vision and AI platform company, today announces a Board change as Stephan Beringer, Chief Executive Officer, continues his strategic refocusing of the business.

This process reiterates Mirriad's unique market position and its exceptional assets while addressing the ineffectiveness of its previous Go To Market strategy.

John Pearson is appointed to the role of Non-Executive Chairman, with effect from 30 April.  He was previously appointed as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee at Mirriad on 2 October 2017.

He takes over from Roger Faxon who will remain on the Mirriad Board as a Non-Executive Director while the Board conducts a search for a new Non-Executive Director.

John has a background in advertising and a long history in the successful commercialisation of media, technology and high growth companies.  He is the former CEO of Virgin Radio and Virgin Radio International, director of Ginger Media, chairman of Shazam, which was sold to Apple for $400m in 2018, and co-founder of World Architecture News.com.  John has current AIM experience as Chair of FairFX, the successful FinTech currency platform.

John Pearson, incoming Chairman, Mirriad, said: "Mirriad has the potential to be a game changer in the advertising market. When the prospect of chairing the company arose, I felt it was a great opportunity to join with the new management team to take the business forward. 

"Having worked with the Company since the IPO, and with Roger on recruiting Stephan and resetting our strategy, it is a natural step to take on the Chairmanship.  Roger has done an amazing job in steering the Company through its formative stages and the IPO.  The rest of the Board and I are very grateful for his hard work, passion and dedication in getting Mirriad to its current stage.  I would like to join the Board in thanking Roger for all he has done to set up the very exciting opportunities that lie ahead.  Now that we have refocussed the business the Chairman's role will require significant time invested in London."

Stephan Beringer, Chief Executive Officer of Mirriad, said: "I am really looking forward to working with John as Chair.  He has world class experience in the sector, in technology and with business acceleration.  He will help us take our company to its next level.

"I took up the CEO role because I believe that the unique capabilities of the Mirriad technology can be immensely successful as the advertising market continues transforming globally.

"The strategic reset we have implemented identified key areas where swift action would put the company on a path to growth and sustainable value creation for our investors.  This involves a complete refocussing of our commercial approach and doubling down on our award-winning technology.  We will reformulate our investment case to support what we already believe is a commercially attractive business case.  The changes announced today are a further step in delivering the new strategy with a new team and they show our determination to move fast." 

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Mirriad was admitted to the AIM on 19 December 2017, following its successful IPO. Stephan Beringer joined the company as CEO in September 2018.

The key elements arising from the reassessment of the strategy are:

1.    Mirriad has unique, award-winning and patent-protected technology for embedding advertising content into existing video

2.    Its addressable market in television and on-line video is large and growing

3.    The format is preferred by consumers making it an effective advertising solution that delivers a strong return on investment for advertisers and their brands

4.    Use of the Mirriad product opens up significant revenue opportunities for broadcasters/distributors and offers significant strategic benefits to media agencies and their advertiser clients

5.    Mirriad's Go To Market strategy has historically been flawed.  There was previously a lack of focus on the demand side of the market (media agencies and brands/ advertisers) and the company had spread itself over too many markets

6. To address these issues the company will:

a)    Implement a revised Go To Market strategy to accelerate demand by engaging with clients and media agencies as channel partners

b)    Build scale by attracting additional linear and digital distribution partners as well as content producers to create a rich and dynamic marketplace. In parallel accelerate technology platform automation and eco-system integration

c)    Focus on core markets and the right kind of revenue.  The company will focus on markets with high per capita advertising spending and in particular the USA, the UK, Germany, France and China

d)    Pursue one vision, one strategy and one plan that focuses the company on its path to success and ensures that all resources are aligned to the opportunity

7.    The company has already started pursuing its new strategy and, together with the new CEO and President, Mirriad has:

a)    Appointed a new CTO in April 2019

b)    Exited Brazil

c)    Exited India commercially

d)    Streamlined its operational teams

e)    Put in place new management in the USA

f)     Put in place a new organisational structure in Europe

g)    Started to implement a new organisational structure in China

h)    Taken steps to integrate its product and technology teams

8.    The company believes it has a strong investment story based on this clear strategy for long term growth, unique technology that embeds rather than overlays video, a product which audiences accept and a substantial market opportunity with favourable industry dynamics.

9.    The company disclosed cash holdings at the end of June 2018 of £22.1m and cash consumption in the first six months of 2018 of £6.7m.  It will publish full year results in early May which will show that cash consumption continued at a similar rate in the second half of 2018.  Early trading in 2019 is in line with the company's budget and Q1 2019 revenue has surpassed H1 2018 revenue.

About Mirriad

Mirriad is an established computer vision and AI-powered platform company, built on Academy-Award winning entertainment tech, with 14 patents. Using sophisticated technologies, Mirriad connects people with brands, through seamless ad insertions in popular linear and digital content. Advertisers can now reach very large target audiences in a contextually relevant way without interrupting the viewing experience.

Research has consistently shown in-video advertising to be highly effective for the marketer and preferred by audiences on TV, online, and mobile.

Mirriad is headquartered in London, with offices in New York, Paris, Munich, Mumbai, and Shanghai. 

View the Mirriad showreel here.

About Charlotte Street Partners

Established in 2014, Charlotte Street Partners provides effective and trusted advice to companies, institutions and individuals. 

We are skilled advisors in financial communications, reputation and brand management, crisis and special situations, employee engagement and media and political relations.

Enquiries:

Mirriad Advertising plc

Stephan Beringer, Chief Executive Officer

David Dorans, Chief Financial Officer    

Tel: [phone]

Numis Securities Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker)

Nick Westlake                   

James Black       

Tel: [phone]

Financial Communications:

Charlotte Street Partners            

Andrew Wilson Tel: [phone]

Tom Gillingham Tel: [phone]

 

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