By Nerijus Adomaitis
OSLO (Reuters) -Industrial software firm Cognite has appointed Girish Rishi, the former head of U.S. supply-chain software group Blue Yonder, as it eyes expansion in the U.S. market and a potential listing there, the Norwegian company told Reuters on Monday.
He replaces John Markus Lervik, the co-founder of Cognite, who instead is taking on a position as chief strategy and development officer, the company said.
Founded in 2016, Cognite makes software that helps read, connect and analyse large amounts of data, allowing customers companies to improve the operations and safety of industrial installations, such as oil and gas platforms.
“Today we are excited to have Girish Rishi join the company, who brings with him proven software and technology experience,” Cognite’s Chairman Oeyvind Eriksen said.
The company does not plan to make acquisitions in the near term, aiming instead for rapid growth on its own in the United States and elsewhere, the new CEO told Reuters.
“We want to grow at strong double digit percent growth rates on a quarter-by-quarter, year-by-year sequential and on a year-by-year basis,” Rishi said in a telephone interview.
“A successful software company should be heavily anchored in the North America, which tends to be the largest market for successful software companies, and that’s our intention to do that as well,” he said.
Rishi left Blue Yonder in February, less than a year after it was bought by Japan’s Panasonic in a $7.1 billion deal.
Cognite is controlled by Aker ASA, the investment firm of Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, and counts Saudi Aramco among its shareholders as well as private equity firms TCV and Accel.
Aramco in February bought a 7.4% stake from oil firm Aker BP in a deal that valued Cognite at just over $1.5 billion.
Lervik, who has run Cognite since its inception, will in his new position focus on “high-impact business opportunities”, while retaining his 7.2% stake in the company, an Aker spokesperson said.
Cognite’s Eriksen told Reuters the plan was to list Cognite in the United States, most likely on Nasdaq, in the future, though there was no timing set.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik and David Evans)
