Elizabeth Buse plans to step down as Monitise's CEO less than two years after assuming the top role at the slumping mobile technology company.
Buse, a longtime Visa executive, joined Monitise in 2014 as co-CEO with Alastair Lukies. Buse was placed in charge of Monitise's day-to-day operations while Lukies focused on relationships within the payments industry. Buse became sole CEO in March when Lukies left Monitise.
Buse said she was stepping down for "personal reasons," according to Monitise, which added Buse wishes to return to the U.S.—Monitise is based in London. Lee Cameron, Monitise's Chief Commercial Officer and Deputy CEO, will assume the CEO job effective immediately. Buse will stay with Monitise until the end of October to aid in the transition, Monitise said.
Monitise announced Buse's departure as it reported a 6% revenue decline in fiscal year 2015 to £89.7 million, while EBITDA loss was £41.8 million. Monitise's fiscal 2015 ended June 30, and the company maintained its forecast of profitability for the next fiscal year.
Analysts say startups that offer open technology development tools such as application programming interfaces challenge Monitise's appeal as a company that can perform complex mobile integrations with legacy banking systems. Monitise's product set includes mobile alerts, design and developer tools that enable rewards, marketing and other m-commerce functions.
Monitise, whose investors include MasterCard, Telefonica and Santander, has reportedly been seeking a buyer for the entire company.
