After 22 years, it’s time for a new CEO!

Krystal turns 22 years old today! It’s been quite the journey from 17-year-old schoolboy gamer to the UK's largest independent web hosting company, and I couldn’t have done it without you, our dear clients.

As I approach 40 I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with the second half of my career. Krystal has been a constant my entire adult life but while honouring my promise not to sell Krystal, I’m now ready for a new challenge (more on this below).

I created Krystal to “leave the world a better place than I found it” and it’s certainly done more than its fair share of impactful and beneficial work over the years. A few highlights;

Environmental/Social

• Planted over 4 million trees.

• Offset the lifetime carbon of our staff when they join, and thereafter.

• Picked up the tab to move our UK data centre to 100% renewable power.

• Became B Corp Certified.

• Joined 1% for the Planet.

• Providing a livelihood for 69 people in the UK.

Commercial

• Executed 12 successful acquisitions.

• Proudly hosting over a quarter of a million websites for 36,000 clients.

• Won ISPA “Best Web Hosting Company”. (3 times!)

• 4.9/5 average client review score.

• Built the world’s only B Corp-certified cloud, Katapult (here in the UK).

• Held an epic Oktoberfest party for 1,000 clients to celebrate our 20th birthday!

I’d like to think that Krystal has been a beacon that proves you can be purposeful AND profitable. These things aren’t mutually exclusive, in fact purpose correlates positively with profit. Business as a force for good must become the new normal if we’re to have a planet where all can thrive. So if Krystal has inspired even a modest number of companies to consider ethics and the environment alongside profit, then I’m happy. (Fun fact, Krystal is the top referrer to Ecologi!)

Krystal is doing important work and filling a (surprisingly) unique role, so naturally I’ve always felt incredibly protective of it and couldn’t let just anyone run it. Fortunately, the perfect successor has been working inside the company for the last seven years, learning our ways, getting to know our people and just so happens to be incredibly passionate about technology and service.

So, it is no exaggeration to tell you that I am DELIGHTED to announce that, effective today, Dave Kimberley will become Krystal’s new CEO!

Introducing our new CEO: Dave Kimberley

Dave has been running technology companies since he was 19. A serial entrepreneur with 13 successful exits to his name, Dave realised he’d finally found Home when he joined Krystal in 2017. Fortunately for us, he decided to settle down and apply his incredible work ethic and entrepreneurial experience to Krystal, for which he was quickly promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

Dave has worked throughout the business; from answering tickets on the helpdesk to fixing sites and servers with his excellent systems administration skills. He’s heavily involved in maintaining the company's financial health, working closely for the last 7 years alongside his partner Laura, who handles the accounts and has been integral to our ISO compliance and B Corp certification, amongst leading other critical projects.

I jokingly refer to Dave as an octopus because he’s got an excellent grip across all of the different functions of the business. I offered him a Director seat in 2019 and haven’t looked back. He is an invaluable asset to the company and we’re very lucky to have him.

Despite being the busiest person I know, he always finds time to make himself available and listen to the team. Dave is also a family man who still can't quite believe his daughter is off to university this year.

It's this blend of professional excellence, in-company experience and personal warmth that makes Dave the perfect fit to lead Krystal into its next chapter.

What this means for you, our valued clients

I know that change can sometimes feel uncertain, but I want to assure you that this transition in leadership doesn't mean a shift in our commitment to you. I wouldn’t be handing over the reins if I didn't have absolute confidence in Dave and the management team we’ve built.

My 3 promises to you

1. We won’t sell out to the “bad guys”

Krystal is not for sale to the usual suspects who reduce quality, increase prices and destroy brands. Krystal is fiercely independent and here for the long term so you can rest easy knowing that you won’t need to move hosts ever again. I continue to be the primary shareholder (94%), with the rest of the shares remaining in the Blackler family.

2. Continuity of Service & Values

You'll continue to receive the same honest, reliable, and personal service that you've come to know and trust. I’ll be staying on the board as a Director to ensure that there is no drop in our ethics or quality, nor our dedication to client satisfaction. Krystal's core values – putting people and the planet before profits – will continue to guide every decision we make. This ethos is deeply ingrained in our company culture and Dave is just as committed to Our Creed as I am.

3. An Exciting and Impactful Future

While maintaining our core strengths, Dave has some exciting plans for the future that I’ll let him introduce in the next few weeks. He'll continue to work tirelessly to push the company forward, innovating and adapting as necessary, while ensuring our values aren’t compromised. The larger we get, the more positive impact we can make, and with the way the climate is changing we’re becoming increasingly motivated to grow.

This change marks a new chapter in Krystal's story, but we're not just maintaining the status quo; we're gearing up to serve you even better in the years to come.

And as for me? Same mission, new approach

I founded Krystal all those years ago because I thought I needed a company vehicle to positively change the world. I’ve now realised I was partially right: to succeed on the scale required to protect the planet and save humanity we’ll need MANY companies working in unison.

So with my newfound time, I’m going to launch an idea I’ve had for a novel type of business membership community that I hope will allow me to scale my mission to the level needed to create lasting change.

If you’re a VAT-registered business and would like to be among the first to hear about what I’m working on, please fill out this form. (By using the form you are agreeing to me (Simon) personally holding your information, not Krystal.)

Krystal has been the only job I’ve ever known (apart from a couple of summers waiting-on at school!) and I recognise what an enormous privilege that’s been. Your patronage and faith in a plucky startup has meant more to me than you can know.

Thank you for 22 great years, and here’s to an exciting and hopeful future,

Simon Blackler - Founder (LinkedIn)