Gieskes Leaves Cision after Turnaround Success

In Stockholm, Hans Gieskes has stepped down as President and Group CEO of comms monitoring firm Cision, with a SEK 8 million reward for completing a successful turnaround programme for the formerly flagging group. He is replaced by North America CEO Peter Granat.

Cision (formerly Romeike), offers marketing and PR professionals a range of tools to manage all aspects of their communications - from identifying key media and influencers, to connecting with audiences, monitoring traditional and social media, and analyzing outcomes. Last year, the firm launched the 'Social Influencer Search' platform, to enable users to find digital influencers who publish content on specific topics.

Gieskes was brought into Cision in 2008 to improve the prospects for the then ailing group. By 2012, market capitalisation was up 265%, debt down 60%, EBITDA up 20%, and headcount down 60%. According to Gieskes, these milestones make it the right time to hand over to a suitable internal successor.

Granat (pictured) joined the group in 2003 as SVP, Sales & Marketing from MediaMap, where he worked for more than eleven years. Since joining Cision, he has held a number of roles including President & COO for Europe and President & COO for North America. He will remain in his role as CEO for the business in North America alongside his new responsibilities.

Chairman of the Board Anders Bös comments: 'Since Hans Gieskes came to Cision at a critical time in 2008, he has been instrumental in the transformation of the company into a well-positioned market leader. Also, he had an active part in the succession deliberations, in order to ensure a smooth handover to Peter.'

Web site: www.cision.com .