Datacom's search for a new Australian boss is over

Kiwi systems integrator Datacom Group has appointed a new CEO for its Australian arm after an eight month search.

Previous Australia and Asia chief executive Peter Wilson departed last December, and Datacom has been scouring the globe for a repacement ever since. 

Yesterday, Datacom revealed it had appointed Theresa Eyssens as the new Australian boss.

Eyssens is an IBM veteran, and was most recently the industry leader for the natural resources sector for IBM's consulting arm.

The appointment comes after Datacom revealed its financial results for the year to 31 March, increasing profits by NZ$15 million (A$13.5 million).

The company's profit after tax hit NZ$51.4 million, a 43 percent improvement from last year's NZ$36 million.

This came in spite of operating revenue holding steady at NZ$881 million for the year ending 31 March – just a 1.3 percent increase from 2013 – and capital expenditure of NZ$40.8 million.

It wasn't rosy on this side of the ditch. "Datacom Australia and South East Asia revenue was down on last year, reflecting a depressed IT project spend in the Australian market during calendar 2013, coupled with the reduction in revenue from Asia as a result of the contact centre business divestment," according to a statement from Datacom.

Datacom's home country did more than make up for the Australian losses, reaping NZ$466 million in sales – 12 percent growth achieved through "core service lines of software development, IT management and data centres across all locations".

Group chief executive Jonathan Ladd said all was not lost in Australia. "We have increased our business in both the state and local government sectors in Australia and our third-party hardware resale business grew during the year and increased its market share and customer base in what has been a difficult market."

Datacom stated that its head count increased by six percent during the financial year, although this excluded the sell off of the Asia contact centres. The multinational now employs over 3,700 staff, including more than 1,200 in Australia and 140 in Asia.