TIDMMIRI
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 GBP22.1m and cash consumption in the first six months of 2018 of
GBP6.7m. 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: +44 (0)207 884 2530
Numis Securities Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker)
Nick Westlake
James Black
Tel: +44 (0) 207 260 1200
Financial Communications:
Charlotte Street Partners
Andrew Wilson Tel: +44 (0) 7810 636995
Tom Gillingham Tel: +44 (0) 7741 659021
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END
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