Sam Hussey, CEO of virtual reality firm Lightweave, has quit the business he co-founded in 2016

The sudden and unexplained resignation of a rising start-up boss in Brisbane has stunned the city’s tech sector

Sam Hussey

The sudden and unexplained resignation of a rising start-up boss in Brisbane has stunned the city’s tech sector.

Sam Hussey, the award-winning CEO of virtual reality firm Lightweave, announced his departure late last week from the business he co-founded less than four years ago.

“I am excited for the next journey! Thank to my co-founders, my team, incredible supporters and clients. See you all soon!,’’ he wrote on Twitter.

In a two-minute video attachment, Hussey acknowledged his shock move was “probably a bit of bombshell to drop’’ and he described it as “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made in my life, bar none’’.

But the 32-year-old entrepreneur, who was named young business person of the year in the 2018 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards, failed to address the most obvious questions of why he chose to leave now and what he’ll be doing next.

Company records show he stepped down on November 15 but still owns about a third of the company and remains the single biggest individual shareholder.

We had hoped to learn more but Hussey didn’t return a call yesterday.

The two remaining directors, co-founders and co-owners Johan Becconsall and Tom MacNamara, also did not clear up the mystery.

A brief statement issued by the company said merely that MacNamara, the chief technology officer, will take the helm “following a strategic change in direction’’.

Launched in mid-2016, Lightweave specialises in augmented reality games, marketing and events.

It has struck licensing deals with heavy hitters such as Dreamworks, NBCUniversal, Mastercard, Adidas and Westfield. Closer to home, it has also partnered with Suncorp, Tennis Australia, the Brisbane Heat, Brisbane Festival, TAFE and the Ekka.

Considered to be one of the nation’s fastest-growing startups, Lightweave generated about $3 million in revenue last year and already has an office in Singapore, with plans for more outposts around the world.

ANOTHER CASUALTY

Brisbane’s hyper-competitive hospitality industry has just suffered another casualty.

Atelier Brasserie on the King Street foodie strip at the RNA has closed for good after little more than a year of operation.

Experience restaurateur Charlotte Barakat opened the venue in October last year, focusing on modern European cuisine in a sophisticated space.

Charlotte Barakat

It was the first solo outing for Barakat, who ironically ended up competing with her own relatives, who operate Italian eatery Il Verde at the opposite end of King Street.

The family have been long-time fixtures in the city’s restaurant scene and ran the renowned Gino’s Italian Restaurant at Hamilton.

Barakat, whose LinkedIn page says she still oversees Gino’s, as well as Northshore Riverside Café, did not return a call seeking comment yesterday.

The demise of Atelier follows the closure in May of King Street’s upmarket and lavishly-appointed food hall Mercado.

LIVERIS DELIVERS

Recruiting former Dow Chemical boss Andrew Liveris to its board might be the best thing Novonix has done.

The Brisbane lithium-ion battery hopeful announced yesterday that it had just struck a deal to supply its “PUREgraphite Anode’’ product to Samsung in Korea starting late next year.

Andrew Liveris

Liveris, you will not be surprised to learn, was the linchpin, introducing the two camps.

He came aboard in 2018 at the behest of his brother-in-law, Tony Bellas, who chairs the company.

Novonix, which is still burning through cash and suffered a $25.3 million net loss last year, will supply the material to Samsung from its US outpost in Tennessee but the dollar value of the contract remains under wraps.

The stuff is usually manufactured in Korea and Japan. It’s understood this is the first time that it’s been manufactured outside those two countries.

Under the deal, the two companies will also co-operate in some R&D focused on electric vehicles.