Andy Roberts takes chair at Innovation Group

(Richard Holway 8.00am 9th March 09) I am delighted to report that Andy Roberts has been appointed as non exec Chairman of The Innovation Group (TiG). He takes on the role vacated by Geoff Squire in January. See my post Innovation Group 7th Jan 09. David Thorpe had been interim Chairman since and this appointment was clearly filled (with the help of Russell Reynolds) in super quick time. It needed to be. You may recall that TiG had had ‘a little trouble’ with some of its main external shareholders and it was thought at the time that they might ‘impose’ their own candidate on the board. I understand that Andy’s appointment had the unanimous backing of the TiG board.

And so it should! I think Andy is just what TiG needs right now. I am slightly biased in that I’ve known Andy for a few decades. I guess our paths came closest when he was the CEO of Data Sciences in the 1990s. I got awarded a contract to do marketing due diligence in the run up to their 1997 IPO. It didn’t quite make it to completion as they were acquired by IBM a few weeks before impact day. IBM’s acquisition of Data Sciences is widely lauded as a major success which really did ‘teach’ the rest of IBM the difference between how to run a ‘products’ and ‘services’ company.

Since then our paths have continued to cross. Andy has been the non exec Chairman of Kewill since 1998 and of Vega (until their £62m acquisition by Finnmeccanica in Nov 07) Then last year he was appointed non exec Chairman of Civica after they undertook their £180m 3i backed MBO in March 08.

Andy is putting his own ‘skin in the game’ at TiG by investing £100,000 in shares – albeit with a pretty attractive sweetener as a matching award at nil cost (save tax and NI) by TiG. I think his background and sector expertise can do nothing but give a much needed boost to shareholder confidence in TiG.

We look forward with anticipation to further news of much needed change at TiG.