Board Changes

RNS Number : 7627H

Vianet Group PLC

15 March 2018

 

Press release                                                                                                                                              15 March 2018

Vianet Group plc

("Vianet", "Company" or "the Group")

Board Changes

Vianet Group plc (AIM:VNET), the international provider of actionable data and business insight through devices connected to its Internet of Things platform ("IOT"), is pleased to announce the appointment of David ("Dave") Coplin to the Board as Non-Executive Director with effect from 1 April 2018.

Vianet also announces that Mike McGoun, who joined as Non-Executive Director in February 2013, will retire from the Board at the Group's Annual General Meeting on 28 June 2018.  We would like to thank Mike for his contribution and support during a period of significant change over the past four years, including the successful re-positioning of the Group.

Dave Coplin is an established technology industry leader who has worked across a wide range of industries and organisations providing strategic advice and guidance around the intersection of a modern society and technology.  He will provide Vianet with strategic insight and guidance across the IOT and big data spectrum as we look to develop further the delivery of our ground-breaking insight and actionable data, and services to customers.

Dave's significant experience includes:

·     Over a decade with KPMG in several countries rising to the role of Director of Technology Architecture and Research Office;

·     Twelve years with Microsoft including seven years as Chief Envisioning Officer through to September 2017;

·     Currently a Non-Executive Director at Mitchells and Butlers plc, where he provides strategic insight and guidance around the increasing role of technology in the development of brands and operations; and

·     Director of The Envisioners Ltd which he founded in 2009.

As an industry authority, Dave contributes internationally in media, to conferences and consultancy on a wide range of topics including the future of education, privacy and online safety, big data, IOT, machine learning and artificial intelligence. 

James Dickson, Chairman, Vianet Group plc, said: "Whilst we are sorry to see Mike retire, the Group is delighted to welcome Dave to the Board of Vianet as a Non-Executive Director.  Dave brings a wealth of experience and insight within the technology space which will be an invaluable asset to the Group as we execute our growth strategy in the Internet of Things and big data areas.  

It is a credit to the progress, ambition and potential of the Group and the Vianet team that someone of Dave's standing has chosen to come on board and we look forward to working with him."

- Ends -

Dave Coplin, aged 47, is a director or has been a director of the following companies during the previous five years:

Current Directorships and Partnerships:

                The Envisioners Ltd

                Mitchells and Butlers plc

Save for the information disclosed above there is no other information to be disclosed on Dave Coplin under Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules.

Enquiries:

Vianet Group plc
James Dickson, Chairman Stewart Darling, CEO Mark Foster, CFO	Tel: [phone] www.vianetplc.com
Cenkos Securities plc
Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume	Tel: [phone]
	www.cenkos.com

Media enquiries:

Yellow Jersey PR
Sarah Hollins [e-mail]	Tel: [phone] www.yellowjerseypr.com

About Vianet

Vianet Group is a leading provider of actionable management information and business insight created through combining data from our smart Internet of Things ('IOT') solutions and external information sources.

Since Admission to AIM in 2006, the Group has grown from its core beer monitoring business both organically and through strategic acquisitions to widen its offering and also develop new businesses, especially in vending telemetry and contactless payment solutions particularly for the premium coffee sector.

Servicing over 300 customers across the world and rendering live data to our IOT platform from over 250,000 connected machines daily, Vianet is one of the largest business to business (b2b) connected solutions providers in Europe with established long term relationships with blue chip customers and growing recurring revenues which are over 85% of our total revenues.

In our Smart Machines Division we connect a single data gathering device with its own on-board communication capability to a customer's asset or system.  The device then sends data back via our IOT platform to cloud based servers.  The technology was originally developed for automated retailing machines, however the flexibility and functionality of the device means the technology can be applied to practically any machine which has the capability to output data.  The device is also used to connect our contactless payment solution and communicate payment terms to our cloud based payment services providers where that application is also required.

The Smart Zones Division is where we connect multiple data gathering devices into one or more systems or assets with the data from those devices being communicated back to our IOT platform and cloud based servers via a single 3G communications hub.  The technology was originally developed for flow monitoring devices, temperature sensors, and asset management in drinks retailing but practically any data gathering device with a digital output could be connected to the communications hub where required such as gaming machines, utilities management and EPOS.

For further information, please visit www.vianetplc.com

 

END

 

 

BOAEAXDLFASPEFF