The crisis is not over at Atos. The TI group announced this morning the resignation of its president, Bertrand Meunier, confirming information from World. He is replaced by Jean-Pierre Mustier, former director of Société Générale and former director of UniCredit, who has held the position since last May. This change of government, requested by several small shareholders, was voted “unanimously” during a board of directors meeting last Saturday, according to a statement from the group.
Except, once again, the president of the Accounts committee, René Proglio, did not participate in the meeting. He was also not present at the July 30 board meeting, which validated the sale of Atos’ historic IT services business to Daniel Kretinsky. The former head of Arthur Andersen France and Morgan Stanley France had expressed his opposition to this operation.
Atos management had accused him of “feigning an absence so as not to oppose the board of directors and be forced to resign.”
Opposed to the sale to Daniel Kretinsky
Both sides stress that René Proglio should resign soon. “It is his wish, but he also wants the truth to be told” about the sale of the computer services sector to Daniel Kretinsky, explains one of his relatives. He has retired from the council until the next general meeting which should mark his departure. Basically, he denounces, like the small shareholders, the advantageous financial conditions granted to the Czech businessman, who bought these activities with nearly one billion euros in cash in his accounts. Given the explosive situation at the head of Atos, the management does not hide that it “expects him to resign.”
René Proglio arrived at Atos in April 2022, invited by President Bertrand Meunier. Disagreements between the two men quickly percolated. The chairman of the Committee of Counts listened to the minority shareholders, furious at the fall in shares, while the chairman remained silent. Since the beginning of the year, sources close to Atos report that the two men had grown apart to the point of becoming rivals. Bertrand Meunier feared that René Proglio would aspire to his position. For this reason he invited Jean-Pierre Mustier to join the board of directors starting in May.
Relations between the former director of Société Générale and René Proglio were then strained. His detractors pointed out his awkward position in relation to his twin brother. In fact, Henri Proglio, former CEO of EDF and Veolia, chairs the family committee of the industrial group Marcel Dassault (GIMD). The Dassault family business owns stakes in Thales and Dassault Systèmes, two companies that studied closely (for Thales) or remotely (for Dassault Systèmes) an acquisition of Atos’ cybersecurity activities last year.
Mustier gives up 400,000 euros
To avoid further controversy among small shareholders, the new president of Atos, Jean-Pierre Mustier, has made it known internally that he is giving up his remuneration as president, which amounts to 400,000 euros per year. He also will not receive a director’s fee since he joined the board last May.
Source: BFM TV
