COO steps up as founder Steve Brown passes the baton in planned handover; transition follows a year of record venue wins, SaaS expansion and AI investment
accesso Technology Group, the leading global technology partner to leisure, entertainment and cultural markets, announced that Lee Cowie has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. The appointment follows a planned leadership transition.
Cowie joined accesso as Chief Operating Officer eighteen months ago, bringing with him more than 15 years of senior international experience in technology leadership across the leisure and hospitality sectors. He spent seven years at Merlin Entertainments, most recently as Chief Technology Officer, providing technology leadership across more than 125 visitor attractions in 28 countries. He holds an MBA from Henley Business School and a BSc from Imperial College London.
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He succeeds Steve Brown, who founded the company’s namesake accesso business in 2008 and has led the company as CEO in recent years, establishing it as the operational technology backbone for more than 1,100 venues across 31 countries spanning the attractions, ski, hospitality and live entertainment industries.
“This transition has been carefully planned, and I’m leaving the business in very good hands. Accesso has a strong foundation, a talented team and expanding data intelligence capabilities that position it well for its next phase of growth. Lee’s deep experience in this industry, his unique view as a former client, and his understanding of what operators need, makes him the right person to lead the business forward,” said Steve Brown, outgoing CEO, accesso.
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“Accesso has spent 25 years building the infrastructure and ecosystem that operators trust with the moments that matter most. My focus from here is on making that infrastructure more intelligent, more connected, and simpler for the operators and visitors who depend on it. The AI era is coming into our industry and we are ready for it,” said Lee Cowie, CEO, accesso.
Cowie’s strategic priorities center on three areas: the development of accesso IntelligenceSM, the company’s AI-powered analytics and forecasting platform built on the acquisition of Dexibit®; an integrated payments strategy designed to simplify transaction economics for operators and visitors; and a programme of integration work across accesso‘s product estate to deliver a connected experience across ticketing, queuing, point of sale, membership and guest experience.
