Coms plc enlists recruitment exec Braund to aid recovery

Cabling and comms VAR Coms plc hires InterQuest chief Mark Braund in management reshuffle

Coms plc has appointed Mark Braund as its new chief executive, bagging the experienced tech leader from IT recruitment firm InterQuest.

AIM-listed Coms focuses on cloud telephony and snatched up the cabling business of Redstone in November 2013, one of 10 acquisitions it made in its fiscal 2014, but its expansion strategy has not proved wholly successful.

On 1 March Coms split with its then chief executive David Breith, following the revelation that it expected losses of "at least several million pounds", for its fiscal year ending 31 January 2015. The VAR subsequently sold off its telecoms operations in May to comms service provider Timico for £2.5m, and in June managed to raise £1.08m through offering 216,278,646 new shares to its shareholders.

Coms chairman Frank Beechinor said he was pleased to have filled the role left by Breith's exit.

"Since the departure of the previous CEO in March, our priority has been to appoint an experienced senior executive management team. We are delighted that Mark has agreed to take the role of chief executive at Coms," he said.

"Since joining the board as a non-executive director earlier this year, Mark has made a valuable contribution and I am certain that Coms and its shareholders will greatly benefit from Mark's experience in his new full-time executive role."

A statement from the firm said Braund will begin his new chief executive position "once he has completed an orderly handover of his responsibilities at InterQuest".

Prior to heading up InterQuest, Braund was North American executive vice president for background screening company First Advantage, and was previously director of SMB at IBM.

Coms announced further management restructuring today, appointing Spencer Dredge as CFO. Dredge was drafted in as interim finance director in March and has held positions at Redstone and MXC Capital before his time at Coms.

Dredge "has extensive turnaround experience, particularly with businesses in the telecoms, IT services and software sectors" the firm said.