Fitbug share price jumps after appointment of new chief executive Anna Gudmundson
Shares in penny stock Fitbug closed up 15 per cent to 2.5p today after the wearable fitness tracker-maker announced the appointment of a new chief exec Anna Gudmundson.
Gudmundson has held the role of interim product director since February, leading Fitbug's ongoing development of its digital coaching system, Kiqplan. She'll replace Malcolm Fried who stepped down after he completed his work “to assist with the formation of strategy and the identification of commercial markets” last year.
Before that, Gudmundson ran her own consultancy for small and medium-sized businesses in the technology industry. She was also head of services at luxury mobile phone company Vertu, as well as leading large scale multi-national projects at telecoms equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent.
Aim-listed Fitbug firm shot to fame after its shares rocketed when Sainsbury’s and US retailer Target started stocking its fitness trackers last year. It has since struck deals with employee benefit firms Towers Watson and Punter Southall.
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"I am delighted to accept this role and look forward to utilising my previous experience to continue developing and marketing Fitbug's innovative Kiqplan range," Gudmundson said.
"This is a highly progressive product in comparison to other wearable health offerings currently in the market and I will focus on ensuring that its ease of use and effectiveness are recognised by end-users and retailers within our target market."
"Anna brings strong leadership, business development, digital and mobile experience to Fitbug at an exciting time in the company's development," Fergus Kee, chairman of Fitbug, added.
Fitbug reported revenue rose 208 per cent to £2.31m last year. However it made a loss after tax of £3.76m due to significant investment in Kiqplan's development, marketing of all products and costs relating to its litigation with US rival Fitbit.