New CEO at CogState

Following the resignation of CogState chief executive officer Peter Bick, Brad O'Connor has been promoted internally from chief financial officer to the CEO role.

"It is exciting. I hope I'm here for 20 years. I hope that in a number of years we will be addressing the bigger market in multiples of 10 of what we are doing now," O'Connor said. "I think it is absolutely achievable. If I'm not doing something right I'm sure that someone will tap me on the shoulder pretty quickly."

In September Bick announced a refocus of the company and O'Connor is confident the right decisions have been made.

"We have simplified our business model substantially. There will be no great change in strategy from our announcement -- we will out-license the drug development, we will continue selling to clinical trials and put the infrastructure in place in the US and UK. We are going from development to commercialisation. We have a good product and customers who we hope will continue to buy it. We are now going to focus on sales of the product and we will be measured on how we deliver."

CogState reported revenues of AUD$1.5 million for the financial year ending June 30 2005, nearly three times more than the previous corresponding period, largely through sales to major pharmaceutical companies and research institutions.

O'Connor joined CogState in April 2004 as CFO and company secretary and sees the promotion as a logical progression following Bick's resignation.

"Peter had been thinking about it for some time. He is now thinking about his next step and challenge. I think it is a great opportunity and have enjoyed working with Peter. I always liked the role of CEO and thought that I would be moving into it at some stage, whether at CogState or another company. Peter has been good enough to keep me involved at most levels and we have worked hand in hand for the last 18 months."

Since leaving PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1999, O'Connor he has held senior management roles at Nextec Strategic Capital, the Australian Wine Exchange and Spherion Group. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Taxation Institute of Australia.

CogState's Clinical Information Technology (ClinIT) software products measure brain function and have application for the use in clinical trials conducted by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to show the effects of drugs on the brain. CogState's other products include a sports concussion return-to-play testing purchased by sporting organisations, an occupational health test, and an early screening test for Alzheimer's disease.

"Our goals are absolutely achievable and we are working towards building a cash positive position," O'Connor said