Dive Brief:
- Swiss banking software firm Temenos’ CEO, Max Chuard, is stepping down, the company said Sunday. Executive Chairman Andreas Andreades will take over as interim CEO.
- The company said it expects to find a successor by the end of the year, and is considering both internal and external candidates.
- Chuard’s departure follows a drop in fourth-quarter earnings at the software firm, and comes amid pressure from activist investors who claimed Chuard was “far out of his depth,” according to Reuters.
Dive Insight:
Temenos, which pre-announced its fourth-quarter earnings Monday, said operating profit had fallen by 27% from the previous year.
Chuard, who has led the company since 2019, said in a statement Monday the past year had been “difficult … with macro uncertainty impacting sales cycles in the second half of the year.”
Despite the challenges, Chuard said Temenos had strong signings across subscription and term licenses with demand across client tiers.
“We took decisive action early in Q4 to strengthen our sales leadership and sales execution and this resulted in normalized execution of deal closures in the quarter,” he said.
In a statement Sunday, however, Chuard said now is the natural time to step down to make way for new leadership, after more than 20 years with the Geneva-based firm.
“I am extremely proud of what Temenos has achieved during my tenure with the company,” he said. “Throughout my roles, including CFO, COO and finally CEO, I have seen the company grow from strength to strength, and we have made excellent progress against our strategic initiatives and our [software-a-a-service] transition under my leadership over the last four years.”
Petrus Advisers, an activist investor firm, which holds a stake of less than 3% in Temenos, has been vocal in its dissatisfaction with Chuard’s leadership.
The firm welcomed Chuard’s decision to step down, but said the company’s leadership transition did not go far enough with Andreades taking over as interim CEO, according to Reuters.
Petrus said Andreades should not be involved in the search for a new CEO, and said Temenos’ upcoming investor day should be postponed, rather than be held under an interim executive.
