Nikki Stella, CEO of AIM Smarter (asi/522700), has stepped down.

Stella, who was appointed to her position eight years ago, is leaving AIM Smarter and its parent company Altitude Group, effective immediately, to pursue other opportunities, according to an announcement posted to the London Stock Exchange.

Stella said in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday morning that she was proud of what she achieved during her time at Altitude: “transforming the business model, expanding into new markets, and driving exponential growth in both revenue and profitability.”

She added that building a great team was the achievement she values most.

“Their passion, creativity and grit turned vision into momentum – and momentum into real lasting impact,” she said. “To the colleagues, partners and customers who believed in me – thank you. I’m now stepping forward with clarity, conviction and deep pride in my tenure.”

Nikki Stella, former CEO of AIM Smarter (asi/522700)

The Altitude Group wished Stella well on her future and shared plans on the future leadership of the company in its public announcement.

“To support the group through the next phase of its growth, Alexander Brennan, non-executive chair, has become executive chair, and Deborah Wilkinson has expanded her responsibilities as chief operating officer,” Altitude said in its notice to the stock exchange. “They will be supported by incoming CFO Drew Whibley when he joins the company in September.”

Altitude also noted that it has begun a search for a new independent non-executive director for the company.

Stella had several appearances on Counselor’s Power 50 list of the most influential people in promo, most recently in 2023. Prior to joining the Altitude Group, Stella was an executive for more than a decade at business-to-business media company NAPCO Media.

Founded in 2006, AIM Smarter is an industry distributor network that provides technology tools, business services and benefits to its members. It has more than 2,500 member and affiliate companies in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. AIM Smarter distributors have aggregate sales of more than $2 billion, according to its website. In addition to AIM Smarter, Altitude owns ACS Affiliate Services, which provides solutions to distributor affiliates that include funding and back-office support, technology, strategic marketing and exclusive buyer access.