Architect of DWS acquisition strategy resigns

DWS chief financial officer James Hatherley has resigned after two years with the company.

According to a company statement, Hatherley will take up a CFO role at an unnamed private equity fund outside the IT industry.

Hatherley joined the Melbourne-based IT services provider in 2013 after nearly six years as CFO for Australian Air Express. He was also an acting CFO for agricultural services company AWB Limited.

This is the second executive resignation from DWS this year, after chief executive Lachlan Armstrong resigned in May after a little over a year in the top job.

Armstrong was replaced by former chief executive and chairman Danny Wallis, who has since been named as a permanent replacement.

Hatherley actually replaced Armstrong as CFO in March 2014 after Armstrong was promoted to CEO.

During his time at DWS, Hatherley oversaw two major acquisitions this year: IT services firm Phoenix IT&T for $20 million and UX supplier Symplicit for $8.5 million.

At the time, Wallis said the acquisitions were a way for DWS to shore up its digital services and business intelligence arm, as well as add to the customer client base.

The ASX-listed company is trying to get back on track after back-to-back years of falling net profits. During the 2015 financial year, DWS’s net profits dropped 19 percent to $10.4 million, with sales holding steady at $94.6 million.

DWS also downsized its workforce by 17 staff in the past 12 months, costing the company $518,000 in redundancies.