Executive Committee Changes

RNS Number : 1264X

Sage Group PLC

01 December 2010

 



Executive Committee Changes

 

01 December 2010

 

The Sage Group plc ("Sage") today announces changes to its Executive Committee, following the appointment of Guy Berruyer as Chief Executive on 1 October 2010.  All changes are effective as of 1 January 2011 unless otherwise stated.   

§ Sue Swenson, President and CEO of Sage North America since March 2008, has decided to retire and will leave the business in mid 2011  

§ Pascal Houillon, currently CEO of Sage France, will succeed Sue Swenson upon her retirement, at which time he will also join Sage's Executive Committee

§ Paul Stobart, Executive Director, and currently CEO of Sage UK and Ireland, will become CEO of Sage Northern Europe (encompassing UK, Ireland, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland)

§ Álvaro Ramírez, currently CEO of Sage Spain, will become CEO of Sage Southern Europe (encompassing France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium), and will join Sage's Executive Committee

§ Ivan Epstein, currently CEO for Africa and Australia, will also assume responsibility for the Middle East and Asian regions

§ David Clayton, Executive Director, and currently Strategy and M&A Director, will become Director of Strategy and Corporate Development.  David will spearhead the strategic development of new businesses, particularly in relation to the web, and will be responsible for the expansion of Sage Pay into Europe

§ Paul Harrison's role as Executive Director and Group Finance Director will be expanded to encompass M&A responsibilities previously held by David Clayton

Guy Berruyer, Chief Executive of Sage said, "After a highly successful time with Sage Sue has decided to retire. I would like to thank her for the significant contribution she has made to the business. Against a difficult economic backdrop, Sue has consolidated the North American business after an intense period of acquisition, driven a significant improvement in margin and developed our connected services strategy in the region. She leaves the business on a firm footing for future growth, as demonstrated in our results for this year. We wish her well for a happy retirement." 

Sue Swenson added, "I have enjoyed my time with Sage immensely and am very proud to have successfully completed the job I was brought in to do. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with such a talented team who deserve the credit for getting the North American business to where it is today. I am pleased to hand over the business to Pascal, who I believe with his strong industry knowledge and Sage experience, will lead it to even greater success."

On Pascal's appointment Guy added, "I am delighted that Pascal has agreed to lead the North American business after Sue. Under his leadership Sage has grown rapidly to become a major force in France and the second largest business in the Group. Pascal is a great talent with an in-depth understanding of the small, mid-market and vertical sectors, an eye for innovation and the operational skills and vision to drive Sage North America to the next level of growth."

Concerning the expanded corporate development role, as Sage looks to increase its share of revenues from connected services and online business solutions there will be a stronger focus on developing web based businesses that extend over multiple countries and are complementary to Sage's core accountancy and ERP business. These businesses are likely to operate under different business models to Sage's traditional business. They will therefore be ring-fenced, incubated and supervised centrally as they grow.

Guy concludes, "Sage has management strength in depth and I am delighted not only to leverage the experience of our current executives but also to bring through a new generation of leaders. My new team better reflects the international and entrepreneurial nature of the business and exploits our operational expertise. It will enable us to collaborate better, to drive innovation and to maximise the opportunities we have to deliver outstanding software and services to our customers and partners."

There are no other changes to the Executive Committee and no changes to the Board.

Biographical details are available on: www.sage.com/ourbusiness/corporategovernance/executivecommittee

About The Sage Group plc

The Sage Group plc is a leading global supplier of business management software and related products and services, principally for small to medium-sized enterprises. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989. Sage has 6.3 million customers and 13,400 employees worldwide. We operate in over 24 countries covering the UK, Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, India and China. For further information please visit www.sage.com.

Enquiries:

The Sage Group plc [phone]

Guy Berruyer, Chief Executive

Paul Harrison, Group Finance Director

Andrew Griffith, Investor Relations

Ralph Charlton, Public Relations

Tulchan Communications [phone]

David Shriver

Lucy Legh

 

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