Former FBI official joins Wynyard board

Former US Federal Bureau of Investigation senior official Louis Grever has joined security software developer Wynyard Group's board.

Wynyard Group, the security software developer used by law enforcement officials, have hired Louis Grever, a former senior official at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, to its board.

Grever will join the Auckland-based firm's board from April, having spent 24 years at the US criminal investigator and is a former executive assistant director at the FBI's science and technology branch, it said in a statement.

It comes as Wynyard ramps up its push into the US market, focusing on the government, financial services and critical infrastructure markets.

"Louis brings an understanding of Wynyard's current business, the fast-growing markets it operates in and the challenges clients face," chair Murray Horn said.

"Louis has already made a significant contribution to Wynyard Group, bringing a new dimension of technical, operational, tactical and strategic insight to our product development, and US and global business growth aspirations."

The company was spun out of Jade Software and debuted on the NZX in 2013, raising $65 million in capital to fund its international growth plans.

The crime analytics and risk assessment software is in use by the London Metropolitan Police and the New Zealand and Australian police forces, global banks and corporations, and is making inroads into the US market.

At the start of the year, Wynyard signed a $3.2 million contract with an unidentified national security bureau.

Last month it reported a near-doubling in its annual loss as its push for large global contracts helped boost revenue 62 percent in its first full year as a listed company.

The net loss widened to $22.3 million, or 19 cents per share, in calendar 2014, more than twice the level forecast in its share float prospectus, although the result was in line with market expectations, owing to subsequent guidance from the company.

Shares of Wynyard last traded at $1.75 and have fallen 10 per cent since the start of the year.