WANdisco names former Sage boss interim chief executive

Scandal-hit software firm WANdisco said on Tuesday that it has appointed tech veteran Stephen Kelly as interim chief executive.

Kelly, who will take up the role on Wednesday, has spent the bulk of his career in the technology sector and is the former chief executive of Sage, MicroFocus and Chordiant.

The 61-year-old also spent several years working for the government as chief operating officer but returned to the private sector in 2014 to take up the top job at Sage, where he remained until 2018.

Commenting on his latest appointment, Kelly said: "I am firm believer in the potential of WANdisco’s technology to become a market leader, and while there is much work to be done, I have relished many previous UK listed turnaround roles and am proud of the successful transformations, profitable growth and value creation they have delivered."

Former chief executive David Richards, who co-founded the business, left WANdisco in April along with chief financial officer Erik Miller. The firm has stressed that their departure was not related to the discovery of accounting irregularities, which have been traced back to one employee.

The "illegitimate" orders associated with the unnamed senior sales rep meant full-year revenues should have been $9.7m, instead of the $24m WANdisco posted in January, and bookings should have been $11.4m rather than $127m.

Interim chair Kenneth Lever said: "The board is delighted to have secured someone of Stephen’s calibre and track record to lead WANdisco forward. All of us remain squarely focused on advancing the workstreams that are designed to lift the current suspension in WANdisco’s shares and position the company for long-term success."

Kelly is currently a senior advisor to BlackRock and a member of the Honours committee.