Ingenico SA, a leading global supplier of transaction and secure payment solutions, today announces the appointment of Philippe Lazare as Chief Executive Officer of the Group.
He succeeds Amedeo d'Angelo who has overseen the successful turnaround of the Group.
Mr Lazare's appointment signals the Group's determination to equip itself to build on the strong foundations provided by the turnaround of the past two years. Mr Lazare brings to the Group his extensive international and domestic business management experience and strong skills in the areas of business integration, logistics and cost control that will be key to ensuring success as Ingenico looks to increase the pace of its development.
Mr Lazare has been a member of the board of Ingenico since February 2005. His experience has been gained in a range of industries including the automotive, avionics, international airline services, leisure and property sectors. He joins Ingenico from Groupe la Poste, the French postal services company, where he was Deputy Managing Director and a member of its Executive Committee, General Manager of its retail operations and Chairman and CEO of Poste Immo, its real estate subsidiary.
With the significantly improved business and financial performance under Mr d'Angelo, the Board believes Ingenico is now well placed to drive more aggressively both its internal and external growth strategies with the objective of securing industry leadership worldwide.
Sales for the first half will be reported on 25 July and will show sequential growth in line with the Group's previously stated indications. In addition, Ingenico confirms the sequential improvement in its profitability during the first half.
Continued integration of its existing operations and the development of new value-added services to capture a greater portion of the value chain present important opportunities for future growth and efficiency gains within Ingenico. The Group has also been successful in growing its business through targeted acquisitions, an example of which is this week's announcement of the acquisition of PLANET in Turkey - a high growth market that positions the Group strongly for expansion throughout the Middle East region. Ingenico will continue to focus on both extending its activities geographically and on continually increasing the Group's cutting edge technological capabilities that underpin the development of ever more innovative products and services.
Mr Lazare's appointment follows that of Jacques Stern who became Chairman of Ingenico on 27 June 2007. Mr Stern is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of security and cryptography which, combined with his deep understanding of the technology that lies at the heart of Ingenico's business, provides the Group with a unique resource at the senior level as it seeks to capture the many opportunities across its growing client base worldwide.
Commenting on Mr Lazare's appointment, Chairman Jacques Stern said: "We are delighted to have secured a businessman of the calibre and experience of Philippe Lazare to lead our company. He brings to the Group a deep understanding of managing complex businesses and creating value for stakeholders. We thank Amedeo for his excellent work over the past two years to put the group back onto sound footing. This has placed us in a strong position to take Ingenico to the next level of its development under Philippe's leadership."
CEO Philippe Lazare commented: "This is an exciting time to be taking the helm at Ingenico. Advances in technology, changes in the regulatory environment for secure payments and the development of new services in new territories are revolutionising our sector. Ingenico's strong global position - with the best international footprint in its sector - and our ability to innovate mean we are perfectly positioned to be a leader of change in our industry. I very much look forward to working with the Ingenico team in the pursuit of this ambition."
Biography of Philippe Lazare
Mr Lazare joins from Groupe la Poste where he has been a Deputy Managing Director, Managing Director of its retail network and territorial development, and Chairman and CEO of the La Poste's real estate portfolio, Poste Immo. He joined La Poste in 2003 as director in charge of purchasing, property and cost control and has been a member of the group's executive committee since 2004. He was previously CEO of Eurotunnel SA (2001-2002) and Managing Director of Lucien Barriere, the luxury hotel, restaurant and casino group (1998-2000).
At Groupe Air France (1994-1998) he was Deputy Managing Director of its Industrial Logistics division that includes Air France Maintenance, Air France Industries and Group Purchasing. He was Chairman of SERVAIR, the group's catering, cleaning, and airport services subsidiary.
Mr Lazare has also held management positions at Sextant Avionics, part of Groupe Thales (1990-1994), and at Groupe PSA (1983-1990).
He joined the board of Ingenico in February 2005 and has been Chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee.
Mr Lazare was born on 30 October, 1956.