SecureData mum on axed MD

By Siyabonga Africa for SecureData
Johannesburg, 12 Feb 2009

SecureData is remaining tight-lipped over former COO and MD Brett Parker's dismissal yesterday. The company released a statement saying it had accepted Parker's resignation after it reached an amicable agreement with him, yet would not go into detail as to why he was asked to leave.

New MD Tony Nutter says he has no comment for the media and would not divulge any information as to how he would move the IT security company forward after the spilt.

Neither CEO Dean Brazier nor Parker could be reached for comment by the time of publication.

Parker's dismissal comes after he was suspended by Brazier, last month, preceding a disciplinary hearing. Brazier's announcement was followed by a drop in SecureData's share price of 13%, which media reports say indicated the shareholders' disagreement with the decision.

Since Parker formally resigned, it is widely believed there will be no investigation as to the reasons for his departure. Several media reports state the primary reason was SecureData's dismal performance during the last two financial quarters of 2008.

Brazier stated internal problems were to blame for a decrease in profits, from R26 million to R8.9 million, despite an 83% leap in revenue, from R148 million to R271 million.

He was quoted in media reports as saying the main fault was selling too many low-margin products and not enough high-margin offerings. Similarly, another error was made in predicting foreign exchange fluctuations, costing the company R4.5 million through badly-timed contracts.

When Parker joined SecureData, he had more than 10 years' experience in IT sales, channel management and corporate leadership, and had held senior executive positions at both Microsoft and SAP.