25 September 2024

Cirata plc

("Cirata" or the "Company")

Board Change

Appointment of Interim CFO

Cirata plc (LSE: CRTA) announces that Ijoma Maluza has resigned as CFO and will step down from this position at the end of the current financial year on 31 December 2024, in addition to resigning as a director of the Company with immediate effect.

Mr. Maluza first joined Cirata in April 2023 as a member of the turnaround management team tasked with stabilizing the Company during a period of intense challenge.  As a part of that team, he has played a key role in delivering against the Company's turnaround plan.

Mr. Maluza will depart Cirata to take up the position of CFO within a private company.  Alongside this change, the Company is pleased to confirm the immediate appointment of Ricardo Moura as Interim CFO who will join Cirata on 30 September 2024.  Between this date and year-end, Mr. Moura and Mr. Maluza will work closely together to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities.

Mr. Moura is a seasoned financial professional, with over 15 years of finance leadership experience gained within international corporate environments spanning the UK, Europe and the US. He has a strong track record in financial management, turnarounds, performance improvement and reporting, coupled with a clear commercial and technical understanding of software business models and products.

Prior to joining Cirata, Mr. Moura served between May 2020 and June 2024 as CFO for the UK division of NYSE listed Optum: a software, technology and service company.  He has also served in senior finance and transformation roles at ASTI Electronics (subsequently acquired by ABB Ltd, listed at the NYSE:ABBNY) and at Hexagon AB: the Nasdaq listed technology group.  

A search to identify a permanent CFO for the Company has commenced and updates will be provided as appropriate.

Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive Officer at Cirata, said:

"Ijoma joined the Company in a period of crisis and through tremendous hard work he has made a significant contribution to rescuing the Company and stabilizing the platform on which we are now rebuilding Cirata for growth. On behalf of the entire Board, I want to take this opportunity to thank him for those efforts and for his partnership during a period of acute Company stress.  On a personal level, Ijoma has been a pleasure to work with during troubled times.

"I also want to take the opportunity to welcome Ricardo to Cirata who will work with us to ensure the growth of our Company continues as planned.  He has a clear understanding of the software space we inhabit and the opportunity ahead of us."

Ijoma Maluza, Chief Financial Officer at Cirata, said:

"Since the new management team were appointed in March 2023, we have faced some significant challenges. I am proud of the work we have done together to help shape a new future for Cirata and all its stakeholders, providing a platform for growth and sustainability. I want to take this opportunity to wish Stephen, the Board and colleagues my sincere best wishes for the next phase of the journey".

This announcement contains inside information under the UK Market Abuse Regulation. The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of Cirata plc is Larry Webster, Company Secretary. 

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About Cirata 

Cirata, accelerates data-driven revenue growth by automating data transfer and integration to modern cloud analytics and AI platforms without downtime or disruption. With Cirata, data leaders can leverage the power of AI and analytics across their entire enterprise data estate to freely choose analytics technologies, avoid vendor, platform, or cloud lock-in while making AI and analytics faster, cheaper, and more flexible. Cirata's portfolio of products and technology solutions make strategic adoption of modern data analytics efficient and automated. For more information about Cirata visit www.cirata.com