Mills to step back after six years at Six Degrees

Alistair Mills to focus on charity work as he hands CEO baton to David Howson

Hosting provider Six Degrees (6DG) will have a new CEO from 1 February when its founder, Alastair Mills, steps back to the chairman role.

Six years after 6DG's inception, Mills is stepping back from the front line of the £100m-revenue outfit to spend time with his family and focus on charity work.

He will hand the baton to David Howson, previously CEO of US comms player Zayo Group - another portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital Partners, which bought Six Degrees in 2015 (the pair are pictured above, with Mills on the left).

While at Zayo, Howson is credited with helping build the company from $80m to over $800m of annual EBITDA, and successfully floating the company on the NYSE in 2014.

6DG, which was launched in 2011 on the back of a three-way merger between UKSolutions, NetworkFlow and Protel, has made 19 acquisitions over six years and now has 500 staff.

Mills said in a statement: "It has been a huge privilege and a great joy to have led the company as CEO since we first put pen to blank sheet of paper, almost exactly six years ago. I have worked alongside a group of incredibly talented and diligent people. I'm hugely thankful for their dedication which has underpinned our success.

"Now is the perfect time for me to step back from the front line and for a new CEO to lead the next chapter of our growth story. David is well known to both the management team and Charlesbank, and his track record in our sector speaks for itself."

Howson said he had followed the company's fortunes for some time.

"I'm looking forward to moving back to the UK and helping Six Degrees establish itself as the market leader for mission-critical technology managed services and to drive growth both organically and through strategic acquisitions," he said.