Tesserent (ASX:TNT) appoints Kurt Hansen as sole CEO

Cyber security leader Tesserent (ASX: TNT) has announced changes to its senior leadership, appointing Kurt Hansen as sole CEO and Geoff Lord as executive chairman.

Hansen had been sharing the CEO role with Julian Challingsworth, who joined after serving as Managing Director and partner of The Litmus Group.

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Challingsworth will step down from the Board to take on the role of Chairman as well as providing ongoing consulting support to the business, says Tesserent.

Tesserent provides enterprise-grade cybersecurity and networking solutions for midmarket, enterprise and government customers across Australia and New Zealand.

At the company AGM this morning the business announced significant organic and non-organic growth over the last two years, with a 372 per cent increase in turnover in FY21 compared to FY20.

Divisional EBITDA growth is 150 per cent compared to prior year and turn over growth is 67 per cent year to date to October 2021.

Tesserent raised $25 million at the end of September to fund a number of acquisitions. The acquisition of specialist cyber security company Loop Secure, was completed on October 1st, and negotiations are advanced in two further acquisitions.

According the company’s AGM presentation, “We are well progressed in negotiations on the targeted acquisitions and have the cash on hand to complete these.”

“Post these acquisitions, the Group will be well on our way to reaching its short term ambitions.”
The acquisitions follow the company’s mission to transition from brands to capability, with its Cyber360 model.

The product provides an end-to-end security as a service model focussed on investments in people, products, processes and technology, delivering solutions covering identification, protection and 24/7 cyberthreat monitoring, the company says.

“Brand consolidation over time enables a capability focused go-to-market strategy. Brand consolidation is a journey which must incorporate our teams, our customers and best position ourself for future growth.”