(News Bulletin 247) – The founder and CEO of the group, Daniel Julien, could, if the stock market price does not recover in the next eighteen months, move the group’s listing to New York, Les Echos reported on Thursday.

Could Teleperformance leave the Paris stock market for Wall Street? This is a possibility that its CEO and founder, Daniel Julien, is considering, Les Echos reported on Thursday.

The manager would be “ready to study a move of the listing to New York”, writes the economic daily. The project has not yet been launched. But if the action of the CAC 40 resident does not “take off” in eighteen months, Daniel Julien could turn to Wall Street, adds Les Echos.

Contacted by News Bulletin 247, Teleperformance did not wish to comment.

Over three years, Teleperformance shares have fallen by more than 70%. The company has had a particularly bad year in 2023 on the stock market. The stock of the outsourced customer relations specialist has been penalized by several disappointing quarters in terms of activity, as well as by fears that the rise of generative artificial intelligence will disrupt its business model and ultimately make it obsolete.

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New governance

The company’s management has regularly debunked these fears. Olivier Rigaudy, Deputy CEO and CFO, notably mentioned in May a “lack of knowledge” of the outsourced customer relations sector by the market, recalling that his group has been working on generative AI for a “long time”. The manager stated that AI does not replace humans but “augments” them. Furthermore, he stressed that the rise of generative AI was accompanied by new opportunities for Teleperformance.

The group has since regained credibility with the market, with its last two quarterly publications having been well received by investors. At 99.92 euros, its share price remains far from the peaks reached at the start of 2022, around 400 euros.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, Teleperformance shares fell by 5.2% this Thursday early afternoon, showing the biggest decline in the CAC 40.

But, according to several market intermediaries, this drop is due to the governance changes delivered by the company on Wednesday evening.

Separation of CEO functions

Teleperformance has announced the departure of Bhupender Singh, deputy CEO and co-CEO, who was due to succeed Daniel Julien at the helm of the company in 2026. Bhupender Singh left the company to “pursue new professional opportunities,” the company said.

The group said Daniel Julien has been confirmed as CEO. The company, however, separates the positions of CEO and chairman of the board. Teleperformance said its board had decided to appoint Moulay Hafid Elalamy, founder of the Saham Group, an investment company that owns 4% of Teleperformance, as chairman.

To replace Bhupender Singh, Teleperformance has appointed Thomas Mackenbrock as Deputy CEO. Thomas Mackenbrock was the CEO of Majorel, a Luxembourg company that Teleperformance acquired in 2023. The executive is expected to succeed Daniel Julien as CEO of the company, “according to a schedule that will be set by an ad hoc committee responsible for steering the succession in conjunction with the Compensation and Appointments Committee,” Teleperformance explained.

In passing, Teleperformance confirmed its objectives for 2024 and indicated that it anticipates “an acceleration” of its dynamics in 2025.

“A surprise”

However, all of these announcements have taken observers by surprise. “It’s strange, the departure of the deputy CEO (Bhupender Singh, editor’s note) was not expected and the manager was held in high esteem by investors,” says a financial intermediary.

“Bhupender Singh’s departure could be a concern for investors, given that he was appointed co-CEO in February 2024 and the company had highlighted his digital leadership due to his previous roles as head of transformation of the Teleperformance group and CEO of the digital BPO (business process outsourcing) company Intelenet,” UBS also judges.

“This new organization is a surprise in many ways,” Oddo BHF emphasizes. Firstly, because it draws a line under the previous managerial transition, announced in February. Secondly, because “Thomas Mackenbrock, former CEO of Majorel, left the Téléperformance group in May 2024,” Oddo BHF continues. Secondly, because the succession schedule has not been set.

“Ultimately, while these developments are significant surprises, we note that the 2024 targets are confirmed and the acceleration of the momentum expected in 2025 constitutes an additional factor of confidence,” the broker nevertheless states, reiterating its “outperformance” advice on the stock.