Cambridge Analytica rips and replaces acting CEO

The political analytics biz desperately attempting to weather the year’s biggest data harvesting scandal has had to ditch its second exec in less than a month.

Cambridge Analytica announced late yesterday that its acting CEO Alexander Tayler - who has been in post since 21 March - was stepping down.

Tayler took over after Old Etonian Alexander Nix was caught on camera discussing honey traps, bribes and more with people who turned out to be undercover Channel 4 presenters.

In a press release announcing that Tayler had stepped down, the biz said he would “resume his former position as Chief Data Officer in order to focus on the various technical investigations and inquiries”.

El Reg wonders if it was struggling to find a willing victim replacement to take the flak from the various ongoing technical investigations.

CA added, in the understatement of the month, a note of thanks “for his service in what has been a challenging time for the company”.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, he has been replaced by Julian Wheatland, the chairman of SCL Group, the parent of Cambridge Analytica and various other international companies.

SCL Group’s current directors also include Nix and former ad exec Nigel Oakes, who co-founded the biz with Alexander Oakes and Roger Gabb. It claims contracts with the US and UK governments, including various defence agencies.

Cambridge Analytica did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bootnote

In order to contact CA for a comment on the reports, we dutifully clicked on the "press inquiries" link on its page, only to be offered this email address: press@camridgeanalytica.org

Spot anything odd? Ah yes, a missing "b" in "cambridge". Wilful bid to reduce press email or basic typo during email setup cockup? You decide.