Old hands on IT Capital rescue mission

By PETER GRIFFIN

IT Capital hopes to revive its fortunes with the appointment of two successful IT entrepreneurs it remembers from happier days.

Former exo-net executives Maurice Bryham and David McKee Wright will join the listed venture capital company, filling a management void created when Philadelphia-based chief executive Jeff Dittus left last October.

Mr Bryham, who co-founded PC Direct and went on to start the accounting software company exo-net, assumes the role of chief operating officer with Mr McKee Wright, his old partner at exo-net, filling the chief executive position.

IT Capital cemented a lucrative relationship with exo-net in 1999 when it invested $1.5 million in the company for a 35 per cent stake.

Riding the dotcom wave, exo-net was sold to Australian company Solution 6 in August 2000 for $38 million, netting IT Capital $12.7 million and its most successful exit to date.

The pair see the irony of their move to head the company they were once pitching business plans to, but believe the experience of nurturing a tech start-up will prove invaluable in their new roles.

"We've been on the other side of the fence. That works to our advantage," said Mr McKee Wright.

Heading IT Capital, they plan to be "operationally involved" with their investments - Virtual Spectator, Deep Video Imaging, Terabyte Interactive and Golden Orb.

But they will have their hands full stemming losses that last year dragged IT Capital into the red.

The company finished with a deficit in the year to last March of $4.9 million, largely made up of a $4.6 million write-down of its investment in Terabyte Interactive. It followed that up with a $5.9 million loss in the six months to September 30.

IT Capital chairman John Robertson said operating expenses were far below the level of two years ago. He would not say how much the new executives were to be paid but the figures are likely to be much lower than the $909,000 that Mr Dittus received.

DF Mainland head of research Bruce McKay said the pair's involvement with PC Direct and exo-net proved they had a good track record of creating value in a company.

"But IT Capital doesn't have a lot of cash at the moment, they're not really in investment mode. It's more about extracting value from what they have."

IT Capital