Atos finance chief to exit firm in wake of IT consultancy’s plans to split

Atos yesterday said its chief financial officer is set to leave his job, just days after the French IT consultancy’s chief executive, Rodolphe Belmer, said he is exiting the company, after it set out plans to split into two, separate, listed firms.

The exit comes as shares in Atos have lost more than half their value over the previous week, in the midst of a worsening boardroom spat over the computing firm’s transformation plans.

Atos’ said its CFO, Stéphane Lhopiteau, will step down from his position in the second half of this year.

The resignation comes just months after Lhopiteau first took up his role as the IT firm’s financial chief in May 2022, after Atos brought in four new senior execs to strengthen its leadership team.

The finance exec will now be succeeded by company veteran Nathalie Sénéchault, who is currently serving as Atos’ deputy CFO, after he steps down from his role.

Lhopiteau’s departure comes after Atos said it is exploring plans to split the company in two, with a view to separating out its cybersecurity and digital infrastructure divisions into two separate companies.

Atos is deemed a strategic asset by the French government, having also worked on UK government contracts, due to its role in providing software to France’s military and the finance ministry. Former prime minister Eduoard Philippe also sits on the board.