Ingenico Group (Euronext: FR0000125346 - ING), the global leader in seamless payment, announced following the Board meeting held on November 5th, 2018, the evolution of the Group’s governance as follow:
- Dissociation of the functions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer;
- Departure of Philippe Lazare, Chief Executive Officer;
- Appointment of Bernard Bourigeaud as Chairman of the Board, and;
- Appointment of Nicolas Huss as Chief Executive Officer and Board member.
Chief Executive Officer departure
On Board of Directors request, Philippe Lazare has stepped down from his Chairman and Chief Executive Officer mandates to enable a smooth management transition in the interests of Ingenico Group.
The Board of Directors unanimously thanked Philippe Lazare for his work during eleven years as the Head of Ingenico Group and for his commitment within the Group’s development.
He was appointed Board member in 2005, Chief Executive Officer in 2007 and Chairman and CEO in the beginning of 2010, Philippe Lazare has led with his team and the Board of Directors, the transformation of the Group and its international expansion.
In a decade and under his management, Ingenico Group became a global leader in seamless payment with revenues growing from €500 million to more than €2.7 billion, of which more than half is derived from electronic payment transactions.
Dissociation of the functions and Governance renewal
On the proposal of the compensation, appointments and governance committee, the Board of Directors has decided to dissociate the functions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Bernard Bourigeaud, Independent Director since April 29th, 2016, has been appointed Chairman of the Board. Nicolas Huss, previously Chief Operating Officer (COO), has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. He has also been appointed as Board Member for the remainder of Philippe Lazare’s mandate.
Bernard Bourigeaud
Bernard Bourigeaud is the founder of ATOS, a company he led for 17 years. He was previously head of Deloitte in France and pursued an international career with PW and Continental Grain in the UK and elsewhere. Today, he is an investor, consultant and associate professor at HEC business school.
He is a director of CGI in Canada and Ingenico in France. He is a member of the advisory board of Jefferies in New York and operating Partner of Advent International.
Nicolas Huss
Nicolas Huss joined Ingenico Group in July 2017 as Executive Vice-President in charge of Strategy and Performance. In September 2017, he is appointed Executive Vice-President in charge of the Retail business unit.
In July 2018, he is appointed Group Chief Operating Officer (COO), a role in which he oversees the management of Ingenico’s two business units: “Retail” and “Banks & Acquirers”, as well as the organization of the North American entity (“NAR”)
Nicolas Huss, 54 years old, has a deep understanding of and experience in the payment industry, and a proven track record in the management of international teams.
From 2004 to 2010, he worked for GE Capital in Mexico and Spain, where he has been promoted in 2008 as CEO for GE Money.
From 2010 to 2012, he joined Bank of America as SVP in charge of portfolio optimization and risk management, based between the United Kingdom and Spain.
From 2012 to 2013, he was CEO of Avantcard for Spain and Ireland, a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management.
From 2013 to 2017, he was the CEO of Visa Europe, based in London. During this period, he led a strong transformation of the Group, repositioning clients at the center of the strategy, seizing market opportunities and capitalizing on innovation. As a result of the excellent financial results generated, Visa Europe has been bought by Visa Inc. in 2016.
Nicolas Huss is also an Independent Board Director at Amadeus since June 2017.
He holds a degree in Law and an MA in Political Science and Government (Toulouse)
