Temenos CEO resigns

Temenos this morning simultaneously announced disappointing preliminary results for the fourth quarter, as well as the resignation of its CEO, Max Chuard. His interim replacement will be the executive chairman, Andreas Andreades. However, the latter also announced his “resignation” by asking not to be re-elected at the next general meeting. The board of directors will propose to elect Thibault de Tersant (former CFO of Dassault Systèmes) as the new president.

All these changes are symptomatic of pressure from some external shareholders. Indeed, Temenos had already announced results far below expectations for the third quarter, which irritated many shareholders. The company did not seem to have realized an underlying strategic change in its operating environment (banking software). Market rumors then spread that Temenos was about to be sold, which momentarily boosted its share price. But no sale materialized, which added to the volatility in the shares. The CEO’s resignation today could therefore be seen as a positive, opening the possibility of a future sale or a sign of hope for a strategic change.