Matt Franklin takes the helm of Roc

The co-founder returns as CEO four years after leaving the role

Roc Technologies has promoted Matt Franklin, its co-founder and CRO, to CEO to develop the firm’s focus on AI solutions.

In addition to CRO, Franklin previously served as chief strategy officer and worked alongside the organisation’s customers and partners to develop its managed services capabilities.

He was also head of the company from 2017 to 2022, before being replaced by Ian Furness.

He takes over from Simon Furber, who led Roc for the past two years and has transitioned to CFO at Bath-based Microsoft partner Cloud Direct.

“I’m incredibly proud to be stepping into the role of CEO at Roc. As a founder, this is a business I care deeply about,” said Franklin.

“We’ve built strong momentum, and I’m excited to continue working with our teams and our customers as we take the business forward.”

Simon Derry, chairman of Roc, added: “[Franklin]’s appointment reflects his deep knowledge of the business and long-standing commitment to its success.

“His close connection to our customers, partners and colleagues, makes him ideally placed to lead Roc into its next phase.”

This marks the firm’s second leadership appointment since the start of the year, as it hired Debby Dean as chief people officer in January.

These changes also follow a top line jump for the Newbury-based MSP.

For the year ended 31 March 2025, revenue leapt approximately 48 per cent to £57m, compared £38.6m the year prior, driven by contract extensions and transformation projects with new and existing clients.

This improvement comes as former CEO Furber previously told CRN that Roc had ongoing Cabinet Office-level conversations, with the organisation seeing big potential for software across public infrastructure.

In November, it was chosen as the strategic partner by the City of London Corporation to deliver an end-to-end networking connectivity solution.

Earnings were also fuelled by the firm’s activity in the UK, as the metric evolved from £37.7m to £56.4m, offsetting a decline in both the rest of Europe and the rest of the world.

Gross profit reached £11.5m, a roughly 30 per cent increase from £8.9m.

However, EBITDA declined around 20 per cent to £3.6m.

The company also bolstered its headcount, hiring 244 people compared with 217 the previous year.

Roc ranks number 87 on CRN’s Top VARs list.