Leading salon and spa software company Kitomba has appointed co-founder Al Quinn as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Quinn succeeds founding CEO Tom Murphy who has departed after 15 years at the company’s helm.
Tom, then an engineer, started the company (initially called Magic Pulse) in 2002 providing a text message service to salons and spas from his bedroom in New Zealand’s Wellington.
Fourteen months later, Al, “a talented software maestro”, joined him and together they started developing a full salon and spa management system called ‘Kitomba’ as they realised the industry needed more than just a text message service.
By 2008 the company serviced around half of all New Zealand salons and spas and then began to expand into the UK in the same year, Australia in 2009 and the US in 2011.
Since then, the company which joined forces with Jonas Software in 2014, has become “a leading software company in the hair and beauty industry with an exciting future focused on continued local and international growth”.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve built with Kitomba and feel confident I’m passing it to safe hands that will continue to provide salons and spas with an excellent product to help drive their success further,” said Tom.
Al, who has “a thorough understanding of the company and a strong appreciation of its customers”, said he is focussed on building on the company’s success.
“I’m pleased to be leading such a capable and dedicated team at Kitomba. I look forward to using our industry knowledge and technology leadership to take Kitomba to the next level and continue to improve the life of our customers.”