CFO Paul Saleh becomes the IT services company’s fourth new CEO a little over a year, as the company seeks to fill a funding shortfall. Credit: Thinkstock Atos CEO Yves Bernaert has quit; The board immediately replaced him with Paul Saleh, CFO of the company since August 2023. Bernaert cited differences of opinion over governance as the reason for his departure: He disagreed with the board about the need for recent changes in the company’s strategy, and the way they were executed. Two weeks ago, the company announced plans to sell off more of its activities, as it struggled to conclude the sale of its managed infrastructure services business, known as Tech Foundations, to EP Equity Investment. The company needs to raise capital as it seeks to renegotiate €1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) in debt falling due within the year. Saleh is the company’s fourth new CEO in little more than a year. Former Accenture executive Bernaert took over in October 2023, replacing caretaker CEO Nourdine Bihmane, who then returned to his post as leader of Tech Foundations, the business Atos still hopes to sell. His predecessor, Rodolphe Belmer, was appointed CEO in December 2022 and left in August 2023 following a dispute with activist shareholders. Alongside Saleh’s appointment, Atos board chairman Jean-Pierre Mustier also named two new directors, Sujatha Chandrasekaran, a former CIO of CommonSpirit Health and of Kimberly-Clark, and Monika Maurer, CEO of Radio Frequency Systems and a former COO of Nokia. Having a finance expert like Saleh at the helm could help stabilize Atos as it seeks to negotiate the uncertainties around its debt rescheduling and its recapitalization plans, which the company says are unchanged since its announcement on Jan. 3, 2024. “Paul is a seasoned senior executive, with extensive experience in corporate finance, corporate turnarounds, and restructuring — including within the technology industry. He is the right person to lead Atos during this period of transformation,” said Mustier. The transformations Mustier is referring to include the sale of Tech Foundations to EPEI and the possible sale of its big data and security business to Airbus. It is considering the sale of other activities to raise capital too — but must balance its capital needs against maintaining the attractivity of remaining activities for customers, employees, and investors. The company said it is on target to meet its financial projections for the full year 2023, including organic growth of between 0% and 2%, and an operating margin of between 4% and 5% of revenue. However, it expects to miss its free cash flow forecast of negative €1 billion, falling a further €100 million short. It had previously reported revenue of €11.3 billion and free cash flow of negative €197 million for the full year 2022. Related content news IBM and AWS forge global alliance, streamlining access to AI and hybrid cloud solutions This partnership will allow businesses in 92 countries access to IBM’s software products, including data technologies and AI, directly through the AWS Marketplace. By Gyana Swain May 03, 2024 5 mins Amazon Web Services Hybrid Cloud Artificial Intelligence feature UPS delivers customer wins with generative AI The multinational shipping company enlisted LLMs to automate customer message responses, reducing agent handle time and paving the way for genAI use across the enterprise. By Paula Rooney May 03, 2024 7 mins CIO 100 Generative AI Digital Transformation feature Scrum master certification: Top 13 certs for agile pros A Scrum master certification can prove you have the knowledge and competency to lead agile teams successfully. By Sarah K. White, Sharon Florentine May 03, 2024 16 mins Certifications Agile Development IT Skills brandpost Sponsored by Canon NZ Why your business needs a cloud-based print management solution If your business isn’t using a cloud-based print management solution, you’re missing out on a range of efficiency, environmental and security benefits. By Canon New Zealand May 02, 2024 5 mins Managed Cloud Services PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe