Raketech confirms departure of CEO Mühlbach
Raketech said Mühlbach is leaving due to different views on the strategic direction of the group. Mühlbach has served as CEO since December 2019, prior to which he had a spell as chief operating officer.
Before joining Raketech, Mühlbach worked at Mr Green, serving as COO and chief ventures officer. Mühlbach also had spells with Swedish shoe store chain Footway AB and Nordic online beauty store Eleven AB.
Co-founder and chief commercial officer Johan Svensson will now become acting CEO. He will remain in the role until a new permanent CEO is appointed.
Chairman praises Mühlbach impact
Raketech chairman Ulrik Bengtsson praised the outgoing Mühlbach for his work as CEO.
“During his four years as CEO, Oskar Mühlbach has led the company through a strategic transformation and a growth journey,” Bengtsson said. “As Mühlbach and the board have different views on the strategic considerations for the company going forward, we have agreed to part company.
“The board would like to take the opportunity to thank Oskar Mühlbach as he has played an important role in the company’s success over the past four years. Thanks to his leadership, the company has a strong foundation to build upon moving forward.”
Svensson back at the wheel at Raketech
Bengtsson also welcomed the appointment of Svensson as acting CEO. Svensson stepped down from the Raketech board in October last year to focus on his role as CCO.
Svensson was previously CEO of Raketech before stepping aside in 2017. He has served in his current CCO role ever since, focusing on M&A and business integrations.
“The board is confident in appointing the co-founder and former board member Johan Svensson to lead the company until a new permanent CEO is in place,” Bengtsson said.
Impact on the business
Raketech said its full-year guidance for 2023 remains unchanged despite the departure of Mühlbach.
In Q3, Raketech posted a third consecutive quarter of record revenue. Driven by an all-time high organic growth rate of 66%, this amounted to €21.5m (£18.5m/$23.6m).
Record revenue led to EBITDA climbing 16.5% year-on-year. Raketech attributed this to the development of its Japan-facing Casumba brand and growth within its network offering, referred to by Raketech as sub-affiliation, both in the Nordics and Rest of World.
In addition, Raketech reiterated earlier guidance for the full year. The group expects to close 2023 with EBITDA in the range of €23m-€25m and net cash of €13m-€15m. This would see Raketech come out ahead of previous guidance on revenue with this coming in at between €65m-€70m.