Sopra Steria CEO resigns as COO takes the helm

Paris wished to be relieved of his duties for personal and family reasons

Sopra Steria's board of directors have appointed Cyril Malargé to succeed the departing Vincent Paris as CEO.

The French reseller said Paris wished to be "relieved of his duties" as CEO for personal and family reasons.

Malargé currently leads the group's operations as chief operating officer and will take its helm as CEO on 1 March.

Sopra Steria added Paris will continue to support the group as advisor to the chairman.

The company's board chair, Pierre Pasquier, thanked Paris for his thirty-plus years with the group.

He led the firm as CEO since 2015.

"I would like to thank Pierre Pasquier sincerely for the trust and the constructive and exacting support he has always given me," Paris said.

"I am proud to have been able to contribute in my various functions to the development of Sopra Steria, to which I remain committed.

"I am pleased to hand over to Cyril Malargé, whose talents I have personally appreciated for many years and who, together with the management team, will be able to take our Group to new heights."

Malargé has been with the group since 2002 in roles including managing director of the France reporting unit. For the past 18 months, has served as the group's COO.

He has also been a member of the executive committee since 2015.

Malargé added: "I am honoured to have been appointed as chief executive officer of Sopra Steria and would like to thank Mr. Pasquier and the board of directors for their confidence.

"I would like to pay tribute to Vincent Paris for his decisive contribution to the development of the group.

"With the support of the board of directors, the executive committee, all the employees and myself are fully mobilised to continue to provide the best service to our clients and pursue the group's strategy to achieve the objectives we have set ourselves."