(Bloomberg) -- Atos SE named businessman Philippe Salle as its seventh chief executive officer in about three years as the troubled French IT company navigates its way through a restructuring with its creditors.
Salle will become CEO on Feb. 1 and was voted in as chairman on Monday, the Paris-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. He takes over from Jean-Pierre Mustier, who’d served in both roles since July when the previous CEO stepped down.
Atos is churning through CEOs as it struggles to reach an agreement with its creditors. The company — a key supplier to important French industries, serving as an IT provider to nuclear facilities as well as last summer’s Olympic Games — was hit by debts, accounting errors and customer losses and has been in a formal restructuring process since February to avoid bankruptcy.
Salle will have to navigate Atos’s sale of its strategic defense business to the French government and ongoing talks with debt holders. The executive has previously held a number of CEO positions in France including real estate service provider Emeria, catering company Elior Group and engineering consultancy Altran Group.
Atos is set to present its latest refinancing proposal to the commercial court on Tuesday, with a final decision expected at the end of October, Atos said last month. The plan, due to be implemented before January 2025, will see creditors take control of the company and wipe out existing shareholders. It includes €2.9 billion of loans and bonds converted into equity and new financing from creditors.
New chairman Salle intends to personally invest at least €9 million in the refinancing plan if completed, Atos said.
(Updates with details on the refinancing plan)
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