Although an avalanche of senior management departures at CGI Informatique SA and their replacement with IBM France SA managers has worried its employees about the company’s future, IBM has assured them it intends to make CGI the core of its software and services activity, according to Les Echos. Employees at CGI Informatique have always feared the ultimate disappearance of their corporate identity and independence after IBM bought it in 1993 for about $470m or 17 times its market value. Despite a financially successful 1994, when net profit rose to about $23m from $18m the year before, the two companies had done little to combine their efforts. At the end of last year, the central committee sent a letter to IBM Europe chairman Lucio Stanca, detailing the failure of the two companies to find any synergy. Our synergies represent scarcely 5% of our total revenues. No significant action has been put in place by IBM that would show a desire to develop this investment, the letter said. Then on February 1 came the surprise resignation of Bernard Chapot, the company’s paternal icon and chairman of the board, who was replaced by Christian Nivoix, until then vice-president of marketing for IBM Europe. Nivoix made clear IBM’s intent to take complete control of CGI. At the same time, Patrick Monnerot-Dumaine, financial and administrative director, quit, to be replaced by another IBMer, Louis-Marie Launey. Meanwhile Alexandre Attal, former public sector market director at IBM, created the post of marketing director at CGI for himself. Now, says Claude Delavaud, secretary general of the committee, Nivoix has reassured them that IBM will increase international distribution of CGI products and wants to achieve 10% to 15% annual growth rate.
