Melbourne-based CRN Fast50 company Lab3 has revealed its chief executive David Boyes has departed the company after seven months in the role, with founder Chris Cook stepping in as interim CEO.
In its announcement, Lab3 said Auckland-based Boyes left the company due to personal reasons, and that it is in the process of appointing a longer-term replacement.
Posting on LinkedIn, Cook said, “After a stint solely focused on expanding Lab3 into new markets on a global scale, I am back at the helm of Lab3 as CEO (albeit on an interim basis)."
"I am deeply thankful to the senior leadership team for your unwavering support and am excited about the opportunities ahead,” Cook said.
“As he departs, I would like to acknowledge David Boyes and the significant contributions he has made over the past 14 months, most recently as CEO and before that as CEO LAB3-New Zealand,” he added.
Boyes joined Lab3 in June 2021 to lead the company’s then-new New Zealand office, before being promoted to company CEO in March 2022.
Cook then transitioned to the then-newly created role of chief strategy officer (CSO).
Commenting on the change, Lab3 chairman Bob Cook said, “With Chris at the helm, the interim measure will achieve smooth sailing over what will be business as usual for Lab3.”
“During the five-year period, Chris previously held the role as CEO, Chris led Lab3 from startup to scale up, and the company emerged as a force in the Australian and New zealand technology sectors and became a recognised product leader.”
Bob Cook added Boyes “made a significant contribution” to the continued growth of Lab3 during his 14-month association with the firm.
“David was integral to the establishment of our New Zealand operations and played a significant role in cementing partnerships with key strategic clients across the Group,” he said.
Chris Cook said during his stint as CSO, Lab3 strengthened its channel team, saying that their expertise makes the company well-positioned to make an impact globally with its cloud-ready products.
“It is incredibly rewarding for me to see what our fearless crew have achieved and how fast things can progress with people being empowered to do what they do best,” he said on LinkedIn.
“Lab3 has always been a shared journey. To this end, I am enormously grateful to every Lab3ster for all that you do and for being on this whirlwind together!”
Chris and Bob Cook co-founded Lab3 in 2017, along with current chief technology officer Andy Lyons, as a Microsoft Azure cloud migration specialist, later expanding into product development. The company topped the 2019 CRN Fast50 list, and has also been nominated for the CRN Impact Award for Business Transformation in 2021.
