Kimbal Riley to take helm of Vista in April

Kimbal Riley to take helm of Vista in April; Holdaway staying in charge of product

By Rebecca Howard

Jan. 24 (BusinessDesk) - Kimbal Riley will take over as Vista Group International chief executive from April 3, replacing Murray Holdaway, who will become chief product officer.

Riley joined the cinema software firm four years ago and has been chief executive of Vista Entertainment Solutions, the unit responsible for the largest portion of the group's revenue. Under his leadership VES has grown its global footprint by an additional 20 markets, extending its reach to more than 80 countries. Vista said the reshuffle was part of succession planning and aimed to provide a "seamless transition" for the business.

Outgoing chief executive Holdaway co-founded Vista Group in 1996 and "his strengths continue to lie in product innovation and customer service and with the diversification of Vista since our 2014 listing, we want him to focus in the area where he has traditionally provided the greatest value, which is product innovation," chair Kirk Senior said in a statement. Holdaway will also retain his role as executive director on the Vista Group board.

The company's first-half net profit lifted 34 percent to $3.6 million in the six months to June 30 on the back of its international expansion. At the time, it forecast full-year revenue growth of more than 20 percent.

The company's eight different units provide cinema management, film and customer analytics software for the global film industry. It estimates more than 1 billion cinema tickets are processed every year through Vista Cinema. It has more than 600 staff in New Zealand, Australia, the USA, the UK, South Africa, Latin America, the Netherlands and China.

The stock last traded at $2.99 and has lifted 11 percent over the past 12 months. It listed in 2014, selling shares in an initial public offering at $2.35. Last November it announced a two-for-one share split to increase liquidity when the stock was trading at around $5.35.

(BusinessDesk)

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