Atos appoints Paul Saleh as its new CEO
Atos disclosed that Paul Saleh, currently serving as Chief Financial Officer, will assume the role of CEO, becoming company's fourth CEO in last two years.
Atos’ new CTO: French technology firm Atos (ATOS.PA) announced the appointment of Paul Saleh as its new Chief Executive Officer, in Paris on January 15. Simultaneously, the company cautioned that free cash flow for the second half of the year is expected to slightly fall below the initial target, leading to a notable decline in its share price.
Atos disclosed that Paul Saleh, currently serving as Chief Financial Officer, will assume the role of CEO, becoming the company's fourth chief executive in less than two years amid a series of profit warnings. The company's shares experienced a 16 per cent decline in early trading, contributing to an overall 40 per cent decrease since the beginning of the year.
Yves Bernaert, the outgoing CEO, departs the company "after an intense period of transformation." Jacques-Francois de Prest will take on the position of Chief Financial Officer, bringing experience from finance roles at Mobivia, a car parts business, and telecoms group Vodafone.
According to Les Echos newspaper, Atos is encountering challenges in its restructuring plan. The company acknowledged that the negotiation for the sale of its Tech Foundations arm, which has incurred losses, is taking longer than anticipated. At present, Atos has not submitted a request to initiate conciliation proceedings with creditors.
Sale of Tech Foundations
Concerns are also raised regarding the potential sale of Tech Foundations to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's EPEI. A report by Les Echos mentioned an upcoming "last chance" meeting between the involved parties in the next few days. At the time of reporting, representatives for Atos and the Kretinsky camp have not provided immediate responses to Reuters' requests for comments on the matter.
Despite these challenges, Atos underlined that CEO Saleh will maintain focus on key priorities, including debt refinancing, the sale of Tech Foundations, and the divestiture of the company's Big Data & Security (BDS) activities to Airbus (AIR.PA).
(With Reuters inputs)
Published By : Anirudh Trivedi
Published On: 15 January 2024 at 14:44 IST