Lyons roars about new board role at Pinnacle

MXC Capital partner and former Accumuli chief joins Pinnacle as executive chairman

MXC Capital partner Gavin Lyons has joined embattled MSP Pinnacle Technology Group as its executive chairman and claims he sees a "huge market opportunity" for the comms and IT security specialist.

It has been a turbulent few years for Pinnacle, which made a number of acquisitions in 2011, had a legal spat with ex-staff and made a net loss of £1.77m for 2014.

Then in April, channel investment vehicle MXC Capital – which is renowned for building MSPs via acquisitions – took a 10 per cent stake in the firm. Lyons, who joined MXC in November, said his appointment comes as part of this investment.

"MXC was appointed by Pinnacle to advise on the company's strategy and also to identify acquisition opportunity," he told CRN. "I am in effect delivering against that promise and I will be the person on MXC's behalf with Pinnacle to drive forth that strategy to identify acquisition opportunities."

Owing to its status as a public firm, Lyons remained tight-lipped on where these acquisitions will fall but said Pinnacle will look to provide SMBs with a broad spectrum of technology.

"We are going to focus on offering customers an integrated platform that enables customers to get a competitive advantage," he said. "As a result of that, that's going to [mean] bringing a range of technology and services, because [what] SMBs want is one company; one trusted adviser they can turn to for their IT needs."

Prior to joining MXC in November, Lyons was CEO at security VAR Accumuli, and oversaw its integration with NCC Group following its takeover earlier this year.

During his time at Accumuli, Lyons led a number of acquisitions, and Pinnacle's non-executive director Tom Black said this places him well to join Pinnacle.

"We believe that Gavin's experience of buy-and-builds and track record of achieving transformational growth will be a powerful asset to the company," he said in a company statement. "We are certain that his strong track record of success and considerable strategic ability will align with the company's business objectives, engendering fresh growth."

Lyons added he was enthused by the ethos of Pinnacle's staff, and could see a real chance for expansion at the firm.

"This is a journey for Pinnacle to go [on] and achieve this potential," he said. "It's a company that has the ability to take advantage of a huge market opportunity. Just look at the sheer number of SMBs in the market and how many need a MSP to help them with their business. They need someone who can help their business grow and I think that's where we can help them by utilising IT as a transformational agent."

Following his arrival at Pinnacle, its current non-executive chairman James Dodd will stay on the board until the firm's annual general meeting in March when he will step down, Lyons said.