Capgemini sacks COO over Accor short-listing

Capgemini, the Paris-based information technology services group, on Friday sacked Pierre Danon, its chief operating officer, after he had been named as a candidate to become the new chief executive of Accor.

The ousting of Mr Danon might leave the former BT executive stranded since a boardroom split at Accor had made it evident he was not the favourite for the hotel group's CEO position.

Capgemini said: “The necessary conditions to maintain his leadership position in the group could no longer be met.” It added that there was no plan to replace Mr Danon in the coming months.

Mr Danon, 49, has been with Capgemini only since March but in that time he gained plaudits for starting to turn round the IT group's struggling US operations. Capgemini shares fell 2.2 per cent to €31.30 on Friday before his departure was confirmed.

Mr Danon said the leak of the candidate short-list at Accor was “not good for France”, pointing out that the banks that supported him were big Accor shareholders owning about 10 per cent. In contrast, the company's co-founders held just 3.5 per cent, according to Accor's last annual report. He said he felt that he could have continued at Capgemini.

A person close to Capgemini said it had no choice but to sack Mr Danon. “Operationally he would no longer be credible. In the US our biggest problem is staff attrition. It is very difficult to convince people to stay when you personally want to leave.”

Paul Dubrule, an Accor co-founder, has said he favoured Gilles Pélisson, the nephew of the other co-founder, Gérard Pélisson, for the chief executive's job.