Sierra Wireless Announces the Planned Retirement of President and CEO Kent Thexton
January 21 2021 - 4:05PM
Business Wire
Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) (TSX: SW), the leading IoT
solutions provider, today announced that Kent Thexton plans to
retire from his position as President & CEO. Kent has committed
to remain with the Company until June 30th to allow his successor
to be hired and to support an orderly transition. The Board of
Directors have commenced a process to find Kent’s successor and
have engaged a top tier executive search firm to undertake a search
for his replacement.
In May 2018, Kent moved from Chair of the Board of Directors
into the role of President & CEO of Sierra Wireless to help
lead the Company’s transformation from an IoT module provider, to
an end-to-end IoT solutions provider. During the past two and a
half years, Sierra Wireless has built a broad portfolio of IoT
Solutions offerings, including Cellular Connectivity, Enterprise
Software as a Service, IoT Applications and Managed Network
Services. Under Kent’s leadership, Sierra Wireless is now
positioned for growth and to continue to lead the IoT solutions
market. When Kent started in the CEO role, Recurring & Other
Services revenue was 12% of total revenue, and in the Third Quarter
of 2020 recurring revenue had increased to 26% of total
revenue.
“Kent has been a valuable and tireless leader for Sierra
Wireless in both his roles as Chair of the Board and as President
& CEO,” said Robin Abrams, Chair of the Board of Directors. “We
want to thank him for his strong efforts in transforming the
business and we wish him the best in his retirement.”
“It has been a great privilege for me to serve as the President
& CEO of Sierra Wireless over the past two and a half years,”
said Kent. “Given that much of the work of the transformation is
now behind us and Sierra Wireless is in prime position to fully
capitalize on the tremendous growth happening in the IoT market,
the timing is right to bring in a long-term leader to run the
business.”
Sierra Wireless expects revenue to be above Street consensus of
$116.5m in the Fourth Quarter of 2020, as well as being above
Street consensus of $110.0 million in the First Quarter of 2021.
The Company also expects to report approximately $170 million in
cash and no debt at the end of December 31, 2020.
About Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) (TSX: SW) is the leading IoT
solutions provider that combines devices, network services and
software to unlock value in the connected economy. Companies
globally are adopting IoT to improve operational efficiency, create
better customer experiences, improve their business models and
create new revenue streams. Whether it is an integrated solution to
help a business securely connect edge devices to the cloud, or a
software/API service to help manage processes associated with
billions of connected assets, or a platform to extract real-time
data to make the best business decisions, Sierra Wireless will work
with you to develop the right industry-specific solution for your
next IoT endeavor. Sierra Wireless operates a 24/7/365 Global
Network Operation Center (GNOC) and R&D centers in North
America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit
www.sierrawireless.com.
“Sierra Wireless” is a registered trademark of Sierra Wireless.
Other product or service names mentioned herein may be the
trademarks of their respective owners.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and information in this press release are not
based on historical facts and constitute forward-looking statements
or forward-looking information within the meaning of the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian
securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) and
may include statements and information relating to plans and timing
regarding the Company’s CEO transition; our 2021 corporate update;
financial guidance for our fiscal year 2020 and the first quarter
of 2021; our business outlook for the short and long term;
statements regarding our strategy, plans, goals, objectives,
expectations and future operating performance; the Company's
liquidity and capital resources; the Company's financial and
operating objectives and strategies to achieve them; general
economic conditions; estimates of our expenses, future revenues,
financial results and capital requirements; statements with respect
to the Company's estimated working capital; expectations with
respect to the adoption of Internet of Things ("IoT") solutions;
and expectations regarding trends and growth in the IoT market and
wireless module market. Forward-looking statements are provided to
help you understand our views of our short and long term plans,
expectations and prospects. We caution you that forward-looking
statements may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements:
- Typically include words and phrases about the future such as
"outlook", "will", "may", “expects”, “is expected”, “anticipates”,
“believes”, “plans”, “projects”, “estimates”, “assumes”, “intends”,
“strategy”, “goals”, “objectives”, “potential”, “possible”, or
variations thereof.
- Are not promises or guarantees of future performance. They
represent our current views and may change significantly.
- Are based on a number of material assumptions, including, but
not limited to, those listed below, which could prove to be
significantly incorrect:
- the scope and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact
on our business;
- our ability to return to normal operations after the COVID-19
pandemic has subsided;
- expected component supply constraints and manufacturing
capacity;
- customer demand and our ability to continue to sell our
products and services in the expected quantities at the expected
prices and expected times;
- our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of our recent
divestiture of the automotive product line (the “Sale
Transaction”);
- our ability to effect and to realize the anticipated benefits
of our business transformation initiatives, and the timing
thereof;
- our ability to develop, manufacture and sell new products and
services that meet the needs of our customers and gain commercial
acceptance;
- expected macro-economic business conditions;
- expected cost of sales;
- our ability to win new business;
- our ability to integrate acquired businesses and realize
expected benefits;
- our ability to renew or obtain credit facilities when
required;
- expected deployment of next generation networks by wireless
network operators;
- our operations not being adversely disrupted by other
developments, operating, cyber security, litigation, or regulatory
risks; and
- expected tax and foreign exchange rates.
- Are based on our management's current expectations and we
caution investors that forward-looking statements, particularly
those that relate to longer periods of time, are subject to
substantial known and unknown material risks and uncertainties.
Many factors could cause our actual results, achievements and
developments in our business to differ significantly from those
expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements, including
without limitation, the following factors. These risk factors and
others are discussed in our Annual Information Form and
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations, which may be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov and in our other regulatory filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States
and the provincial securities commissions in Canada:
- prolonged negative impact from COVID-19;
- our access to capital if required;
- competition from new or established competitors or from those
with greater resources;
- natural catastrophes or public health epidemics could impact
customer demand, result in production disruption and impact our
ability to meet customer demand or capacity to continue critical
operations;
- risks that the Sale Transaction may fail to realize the
expected benefits;
- the loss of, or significant demand fluctuations from, any of
our significant customers;
- our financial results being subject to fluctuation;
- our business transformation initiatives may result in
disruptions to our business and may not achieve the anticipated
benefits;
- our ability to respond to changing technology, industry
standards and customer requirements;
- failures of our products or services due to design flaws and
errors, component quality issues, manufacturing defects, network
service interruptions, cyber-security vulnerabilities or other
quality issues;
- deterioration in macro-economic conditions could adversely
affect our operating results and financial conditions;
- our ability to attract or retain key personnel and the impact
of organizational changes on our business;
- cyber-attacks or other breaches of our information technology
security;
- risks related to the transmission, use and disclosure of user
data and personal information;
- disruption of, and demands on, our ongoing business and
diversion of management's time and attention in connection with
acquisitions or divestitures;
- risks that the acquisition of the M2M Group or our investments
and partnerships may fail to realize the expected benefits;
- risks related to infringement on intellectual property rights
of others;
- our ability to obtain necessary rights to use software or
components supplied by third parties;
- our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights;
- our reliance on single source suppliers for certain components
used in our products;
- our dependence on a limited number of third party
manufacturers;
- unanticipated costs associated with litigation or
settlements;
- our dependence on mobile network operators to promote and offer
acceptable wireless data services;
- risks related to contractual disputes with counterparties;
- risks related to governmental regulation;
- risks inherent in foreign jurisdictions; and
- risks related to tariffs or other trade restrictions.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210121005910/en/
David Climie Sierra Wireless Investor Relations
dclimie@sierrawireless.com
Louise Matich Sierra Wireless Media Relations
pr@sierrawireless.com
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