"Stobart, a former Sage executive, was appointed as chair at the end of 2017. The goal was to ramp up growth and make Zen a £100 million business within three years and a £250 million business within a decade. It didn't pan out that way. Tang appointed Stobart to the role of chief executive on October 1, 2018, and Tang took Stobart's former role as chair."
"According to Zen, Stobart retired from the business at the end of March 2023. Founder and former CEO Richard Tang took over. However, Stobart claimed that he was unfairly dismissed. In 2024, a Manchester tribunal agreed [PDF], although it noted this was more down to Zen not following its own procedures than anything else. There was then the inevitable appeal [PDF]. The judgment, published on October 27, upheld the finding of unfair dismissal against Zen."
Paul Stobart, former Sage executive, served as Zen Internet chair from late 2017 and became CEO on October 1, 2018, with founder Richard Tang resuming the chair role. Zen aimed to grow to £100 million within three years and £250 million within a decade but failed to meet forecasts. Zen recorded a profit in 2019 but suffered losses from 2020 to 2023. Zen dismissed Stobart for capability reasons tied to poor financial performance. A Manchester tribunal in 2024 found the dismissal unfair because Zen did not follow its procedures, and an appeal upheld that finding.
Read at Theregister
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]