Superloop founder and outgoing CEO, Bevan Slattery
Superloop (ASX:SLC) founder and CEO, Bevan Slattery, is set to step down as the company's chief, with SecureCo chief, Drew Kelton, to replace him in the leadership role.
The move, which comes just over a year-and-a-half after the publicly-listed fibre network infrastructure provider entered into an agreement to acquire BigAir in a deal worth $95 million, sees Slattery step back to focus more on the company’s strategic priorities.
“Having started the company less than five years ago and heading towards completion of the integration of BigAir,” Slattery told shareholders, “I’m delighted that we’re now moving into the next phase of growth, with me stepping into an executive director’s role freeing my up to focus on driving strategy and having a great CEO like Drew join the team to drive the performance of the business.”
Kelton, CEO of cloud-based payments platform provider, SecureCo, former vice president and managing director of DocuSign in Asia Pacific, and a director at Megaport – of which Slattery is chairman and executive director – is expected to bring his experience in integrating new acquisitions to the new role.
Superloop non-executive chairman, Michael Malone, said the move will see the company continue to benefit from having Slattery as an executive director, while also having Kelton’s leadership as it continues the expansion of its capability and networks across the Asia-Pacific region.
“We are excited to have Drew join as Superloop’s next CEO. On behalf of the board, I welcome Drew to the team,” Malone, said. “He brings to the company extensive executive leadership experience across the UK, Europe, Asia and the US.
“He has a global perspective and significant understanding of ICT and telecommunications infrastructure.
“In addition, his experience integrating acquisitions, developing new income streams, and incorporating technological change and disruption into industries and business models, will help drive Superloop through its next growth phase,” he said.
The CEO switch comes weeks after fellow Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed tech player, Xero, revealed its founding CEO, Rod Drury, would step down from his role, with former Microsoft Australia and New Zealand vice president, Steve Vamos, named as his replacement.
That move sees Drury continue to focus on innovation and strategy for Xero as a non-executive director of the company.
