BTL group announced this week on October the 2nd a Leadership transition within the company. In the communication, they announced that BTL’s co-founder, Guy Halford-Thompson, stepped down from his CEO role.Replacing him is Dominic McCann, previously executive vice-president for BTL.

However, Guy Halford-Thompson remains a member of BTL Group’s board.

4 Reasons why this Leadership Transition Is Good News for BTL Group

Reason # 1 McCann’s Track record

The best description we found comes from his linked-in Profile:

Dominic McCann started out his career at Accenture Management Consulting delivering technology transformation projects within Investment Banking. He has also managed Global application development and implementations projects across multiple sectors.

Following Accenture, he pursued his leadership, business development and management skills running Dells Local and Central Public Sector Scotland division.

He immigrated to Australia in 2007 where he helped build and sell an Oil and Gas focused analytics practice, before joining SAS Institute. Following almost a decade of new business growth he now leads a global team as SAS Global Client Director for Shell.

Reason # 2 The timing of the transition

McCann was appointed as an Executive VP in BTL in July 2017. Clearly, the role was a stepping stone to prepare him for the upcoming role. Which is a good thing as a proper succession planning is important for a smooth transition therefore for investors.

We’ve actually covered his appointment in July 2017 in our article BTL Group and why the Rally might not be over yet. We’ve mentioned how this is as a solid addition to BTL Group.

This appointment also comes at a time where the company needs to focus on revenue generation.

Reason # 3 The need to focus on revenue generation

According to BTL’s Roadmap, Q4 will be focused on the commercialization of Interbit licenses. This is where McCann’s background in managing Global application development and implementations projects will be important to the future success of BTL.

This is particularly important now as we have identified from reviewing BTL Group’s most recent financial results that the company’s ability to generate revenue is what investors need to keep an eye on. We said:

BTL Group arrived at a critical juncture in their technology evolution. The market wants to see promising results of their technological product. That is what we read not only in the documentation of the company but also in the chart.

Reason # 4 The importance of the Energy sector for BTL Group’s success

Another key point from BTL’s Roadmap for Q4 2017 is scoring additional pilots in the energy sector. They have already lead successful pilots and it looks like introducing Blockchain capabilities into the energy sector will probably be a focus for the company in 2018. Again McCann has an extensive experience in the field with almost a decade of experience in Oil and gas focused analytics.

If BTL Group is successful in establishing the company as a sector leader within the energy sector, this will be a serious catalyst for BTL group’s future success. The field is highly lucrative and increasing effectiveness while reducing cost is definitely a priority especially when crude margins get thinner.

We believe Dominic McCann’s new appointment following what we think was probably a gradual succession plan, along with retaining the Co-founder Guy Halford-Thompson in the board is good news for BTL stock holders. We just need to give the market some time to digest the change and see what the new leadership will provide in terms of guidance to the market and the company.