iSelect chief Matt McCann quits after clash with board members THE chief executive of iSelect has quit after clashing with the board over growth strategies for the online insurance broker and overseeing a disastrous stockmarket debut. An iSelect spokesman said the surprise departure of Matt McCann, announced yesterday, followed a difference of opinion between the chief executive and the company's board over the group's direction. BusinessDaily believes Mr McCann was determined to push ahead with a growth strategy based on acquisitions while the board demanded a focus on improving and expanding the existing business with future purchases to be looked at after 18 months to two years. Mr McCann had headed iSelect since the start of last year and his resignation, tendered after the close of market on Friday, took immediate effect. Former finance director David Chalmers has taken over the top job while an international search for a replacement is conducted. The shake-up prompted a surge in iSelect's share price, which jumped 8.3 per cent - its biggest one-day rise since the group late in June - to close at $1.36. Mr McCann's departure also follows a dismal stock market debt for the company, which has lost more than a quarter of its $1.85 value, including a near 16 per cent plunge during the opening day of trading. In September the corporate watchdog began quizzing the company's forecasting assumptions and disclosure practices after it failed to meet revenue targets outlined in its prospectus. Yesterday iSelect said it believed its latest trading update answered all information requests that had been put to it by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.