Adam Binks steps down as SysGroup CEO
After five years at the helm of the business, the chief executive reveals he has decided now is the right time to move on
Adam Binks, the CEO of SysGroup, has called time on his stint in the hot seat, after five years in the role.
In his time as CEO at the AIM-listed channel player, Binks oversaw a tripling in the size of the business and managed to produce profits at the firm.
Binks joined the company in 2014 as chief operating officer, and then became the youngest CEO on AIM in 2018. He helped deliver a vision of growing a presence in the mid-market as a managed service provider and IT solutions specialist.
During his tenure, the business managed to secure £10m in funding and sealed several acquisitions, including Certus IT, Hub Network Services, Orchard Computers and Truststream. That last deal was struck in April last year, and added more cyber security expertise to the firm. The deals have been designed to add technical and geographical reach across the UK mid-market.
The plan is for Binks to step down from the board following the announcement of the group’s full year results for the year ended 31 March 2023 on 26 June 2023, at which point Heejae Chae will join the board as executive chairman.
Chae was previously group CEO of Scapa Group and Volex Group, and is currently chairman of the remuneration committee at IP Group. There will be a slight reshuffle, with current chair Michael Edelson stepping down to become a non-executive director.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my tenure at SysGroup, the last five years of which as CEO,” said Binks. “Together with the team, we have built a solid business which can be used to bolt-on further acquisitions and continue to grow organically, and I am looking forward to seeing SysGroup go through its next stage of growth under Heejae’s leadership.”
Excellent leadership
Edelson spoke on behalf of the board and thanked Binks for his service to the company. “He has demonstrated excellent leadership through extremely challenging times, especially through recent events, and his experience and knowledge of both the technology sector and capital markets has proved invaluable,” he said. “I know I speak for all stakeholders by wishing him well for the future. The board is grateful for Adam’s work these past nine years.”
“For me, whilst I am sad to be stepping down from the board of SysGroup, I am confident that now is the right time to step aside, having been chair of the company since its admission to trading on AIM in 2013,” added Edelson.
Binks spoke to MicroScope back in 2019, just shy of a year into his CEO role, and indicated that he wanted to make the business a managed service powerhouse.
“My objective was to put a five-year strategy in place for the company, so we sat down [after my appointment] and asked where we want to take this market cap AIM-listed stock and what that journey looked like for us,” he said at the time.
“We put a strategy in place that is publicly known and stated as 1023, and that strategy is that we want to take this company to delivering £10m of EBIDTA by the end of the financial year 2023. At that point, given market variables, that should see us trading as a £100m market cap company. That is the aspiration and that’s what we want to do.”
