Kainos Group chief executive Brendan Mooney to step down

The chief executive of Kainos Group will step down in September after 22 years at the helm of the IT provider.

Brendan Mooney will depart after a total of 34 years with Kainos, which is behind the Workday HR software, having joined the FTSE 250 group as a trainee software engineer in 1989.

He will be replaced by current digital services director Russell Sloan, who will also join the Kainos board of directors.

During his tenure as chief executive, Mooney led Kainos through its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange as the group grew to be one of Britain’s leading IT providers.

Kainos, whose UK public sector contracts included helping to develop the NHS App, said Mooney would stay with the firm until its September annual general meeting and would remain ‘actively engaged’ with the business until June next year to ensure an orderly transition.

Mooney’s replacement joined Kainos in 1999, also as a trainee software engineer, before embarking on a series of leadership roles.

He has previously served as director of Kainos’ digital services division, ‘delivering digital transformation for government, healthcare and commercial sector organisations’, the group said.

Kainos revenues jumped 26 per cent year-on-year to £179.8million in the six months ending September, following significant overseas growth and surging orders from the commercial sector.

In the most recent financial year, digital services generated over 60 per cent of Kainos’ total revenue.

Kainos has recently forecast that demand for its services will remain elevated in the short term as more businesses and institutions upgrade their digital operations.

Kanios shares fell 2.3 per cent to £13.84 in early trading, bringing losses since the start of the year to around 12 per cent. 

Chairman of Kainos Tom Burnet said: ‘Brendan and Russell have worked closely as colleagues for many years and today formalises the final stage of our four-year succession process.

‘We look forward to continuing to work closely with Russell and supporting him as he continues to grow the business.’

Sloan added: Kainos is a thriving, growing and global business. I am excited to be taking over the role of chief execuitve in September and look forward to building on the success that has been created over the past decades. 

‘We have much to be proud of as a team and look forward to many more achievements in the future.