Atos chief exec leaves job after French IT firm sets out plans to split
Atos chief executive Rodolphe Belmer today left his position as chief executive of the French IT consultancy, following a boardroom spat over plans to split Atos’ business into two separate, publicly-listed firms.
The French exec, who only took on his new role January, is now set to be replaced by two new deputy CEOs, who are set to push forwards with Atos’ transformation plans.
The chief executive’s resignation came as trading of shares in the firm was halted, after the company’s stock price plummeted on news of plans for the split – just hours before the firm’s capital market day.
Shares in the firm – which is considered to be a “strategic asset” by the French government – have lost more than 44.5 per cent of their value over the previous week in response to rumours around the company’s split.
The carve up is set to see the French firm split into one company focused on Atos’ cybersecurity business and another focused on its digital infrastructure and cloud computing lines.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley said “management upheaval” in the wake of Belmer’s exit from the firm may further dent Atos’ share price, as it said the shakeup could be “viewed negatively” during a period of significant change.