One of the best performers on the All Ordinaries index this morning has been the Integrated Research Limited (ASX: IRI) share price.
At the time of writing the shares of the systems and applications management computer software provider are up over 6% to $2.53.
Why is the Integrated Research share price surging higher today?
Investors have been buying the company's shares this morning after it announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer.
According to the release, Integrated Research has appointed John Ruthven as its new CEO, replacing John Merakovsky who resigned in November to become the CEO of Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) subsidiary, flybuys.
Mr Ruthven, who will commence in the role in July, is an internationally experienced software industry executive.
The release advises that he has over 20 years experience working in the technology industry with a proven track record of leadership and delivering strong profitable growth.
Most recently Mr Ruthven was the operating officer of global sales at Technology One Limited (ASX: TNE). Prior to that he was president and managing director ANZ of SAP, SVP international sales at Zuora Inc, and held various senior positions at CA Technologies and Computer Associates Inc.
The company's chairman, Paul Brandling, appears to be very pleased with the appointment after a long search.
He said: "We undertook a rigorous search process to find the best person to lead IR in this exciting next phase for the Company. John Ruthven has the leadership credentials and international software industry experience to lead a high performance team and drive the successful execution of our growth strategy."
Trading update.
In addition to announcing this appointment, the company provided the market with a trading update this morning.
According to the release, following a record first half trading performance, the board is "pleased with Q3 performance showing a strong uplift compared to prior corresponding period. Large deals won in the quarter include 3 over $1 million each. The overall performance year to date reinforces the Board's confidence in the business."
Should you invest?
Whilst I'm a big fan of Integrated Research, its sudden underperformance in FY 2018 has made me a little cautious of the company.
I would class it as a buy at the current level, but I would would only recommend taking a small position in the company until it proves that it has moved on entirely from FY 2018's issues.
