In a simplified management structure, Germond will become vice-chairman of the management board and deputy CEO, having previously overseen Atos’s restructuring process as well as managing its Worldline and Euronext operations and the company’s businesses in North America and Asia Pacific.
Described by Atos as the identified successor for the position of CEO, Germond will report directly to Bourigeaud. The two will work together on developing a strategic plan for the group, and manage a smooth succession, the company added. Two other members of the new management team, Eric Guilhou and Wilbert Kieboom, will report to Germond.
Germond joined the Atos board last December, having previously been a member of the company’s supervisory board. Before his appointment to Atos, Germond was president and COO of Alcatel, CEO of mobile phone operator SFR, and a member of the executive committee at Vivendi Universal. Between 1980 and 1995 he held various positions with Hewlett-Packard in the US, France, and Europe.
Current CEO Bourigeaud has been associated with Atos since its inception. In 1996, as chairman of IT services company Axime, he oversaw the acquisition of rival vendor Sligos that created Atos. Then, in 2000, he was at the helm as Atos merged with Dutch company Origin, before expanding further with major takeovers including KPMG Consulting in the UK and the Netherlands and the IT services operation of SclumbergerSema.
In recent months, the pressure on Bourigeaud has mounted. Atos reported a loss of 264m euros ($350m) in 2006, and sales have slumped in the UK on the back of four major contract ramp-downs. In February, the company launched a recovery plan, which aimed to grow revenue by 8.5% in 2007 and double operating margin by 2009.
Last month, Atos ended discussions with private equity firms interested in acquiring the company. The decision only served to intensify the strain on Bourigeaud, and made it imperative that Atos’s restructuring program achieve visible success in the coming months.
