The CEO of embattled Geneva banking software provider Temenos is stepping down. A search for his replacement is underway.
After 20 years at Temenos, CEO Max Chuard decided to step down from his role. The search for a replacement is underway with the board of directors considering internal and external candidates, with the position to be filled by the end of 2023 at the latest. He will remain in an advisory role during the transition, according to a statement from Temenos Monday.
The executive suite of Temenos has been under pressure from activist investors recently. A minority shareholder in the firm, Helvetic Trust joined British activist Petrus Advisers, another minority shareholder, among those demanding the removal of Chuard and Chairman Andreas Andreades, as finews.com reported.
For the time being, Andreades is staying and will assume acting CEO duties and will hand over responsibilities once a new CEO is in place. After 24 years with Temenos, and following a two-year succession plan process to hand over chair responsibilities, Andreades will not stand for re-election as executive chairman at the next AGM.
After posting disappointing results in the third quarter, two executives were ousted from the firm after brief tenures. President of the Americas and management board member Roman Bartik departed in early October, after only having taken the job in May of last year. A week later, Temenos announced the departure of chief revenue officer (CRO) Erich Gerber, who also served on the board.
New Director Proposed
The board of directors is proposing Thibault de Tersant to be elected Non-Executive Chairman of the Board at the next AGM.
«It is time for Temenos to set a course for the future with the next generation of leadership. We thank Max for the leadership, passion, and dedication that he has brought to Temenos over the last two decades. He has been integral in developing Temenos into the global technology leader that it is today as evidenced by the number of milestone client wins secured with banks of all sizes and in all banking segments in 2022 and the strong momentum in North America, with top tier and regional banks recognizing the value of our technology proposition,» said Andreades.
Preliminary Results
The company also announced preliminary fourth-quarter results for which it reported an EBIT of $93.9 million, a 27 percent decrease from $128.4 million a year ago. Total revenues fell 4 percent to $277.9 million in the fourth quarter from $290 million in the same year-ago period. For the whole year, revenues declined 2 percent to $949.6 million.
Its fiscal year results for last year were in line with revised guidance, according to the firm, with a free cash flow of $191.7 million down 46 percent from $358.2 million nevertheless «significantly exceeding guidance.»
Banks remain cautious in their decision-making given future macro-economic uncertainty; however, several large deals with tier 1 institutions were signed in the fourth quarter, according to Temenos.
Temenos’ fourth quarter and full year 2022 results will be announced on Monday, February 20, after the market closes.
