SciSys founder Mike Love has formally stepped back from day-to-day control of specialist software company to become its non-executive chairman. The move was flagged up at the end of October and is part of a boardroom shake-up at SciSys, a leading developer of information and communications technology services, e-business and advanced technology solutions with a major base in Bristol.
David Jones has moved up from chief operations officer to group chief executive while Klaus Martin Heidrich has joined the board as COO as part of a long-term succession plan for SciSys which has its headquarters in Chippenham and bases in Reading and three locations in Germany.
Klaus joined VCS, now a 100% subsidiary of SciSys, in 1989 as a sales engineer. He was responsible for VCS’ market and sales from 1992 and developed the German company’s media activities. Following his departure for a year to Management Data AG in 2000, Klaus returned to VCS and took responsibility for strategic business development. He has been a director of the company’s media broadcasting solutions division since 2005 and a member of the VCS board since 2009.
Dr Love, 63, remains a director and significant shareholder of SciSys, whose profits rose 83% to £1.1m in the six months to June 30. He was chief executive of SciSys from 1986, when he led a management buy-in, until 2003, when he became non-executive chairman, stepping back to an executive chairman in late 2007.
He studied physics at university and obtained his PhD in theoretical nuclear physics. He entered the software industry in 1976 with Logica, moved to the European Space Agency in the late 1970s and joined SciSys (then Science Systems) in 1981. He is also a non-executive director at executive search software and recruitment software group Dillistone, chairman at Voice and Data communications firm ClearStream Technologies, a director of energy-from-waste firm WP2 Ltd and a director of The Nepal Trust.
The group, which employs nearly 450 people, operates in a broad spectrum of market sectors including media broadcast, space, government and defence, environment and applications support.
Its clients – predominantly blue chip and public sector organisations – include the Environment Agency, the Ministry of Defence, Astrium, Arqiva, Cable & Wireless, the European Space Agency, Eumetsat, the BBC, the National Archives and Transport for London.
