Contact centers. Armatis, Konecta, Teleperformance, Webhelp the great game of musical chairs in BPO outsourcing

If you've left your Panini book of customer experience and BPO vignettes to one side, it's time to make some new purchases or swaps, because everything has moved or is going to move. Except the share price, which is still at an all-time low.

Armatis : Denis Akriche, the last of the Mohicans, takes to the high seas

The founder of Armatis, formerly known as Stefi Conseil, recently handed over the reins of his outsourcing empire to a dynamic young executive trained in the best firms: David Gillaux, a former advertising executive (Havas) who has also worked for Webhelp, Teleperformance and Solocal.

When you don't have a presence in the most important global market in your industry, the US English-speaking market, can you expect to grow?

Like former singers, such as Michel Sardou, who regularly announce their last tour but leave themselves open to the temptation of a few concerts if the tour operator and the marquees suit them, Denis Akriche will have waited until he has passed the age of seventy to leave the operational management of Armatis. He did so in mid-September, installing at the head of the group his exact opposite: a man of communication. David Gillaux, already CEO, will become Chairman of the Management Board in January 2024. "If you're looking for my clone, you'll need some time", joked Denis Akriche, referring to what he had long told his investors. He has kept his word.

In the BPO and outsourced customer services sector, Denis Akriche is not the oldest founding director still at the helm: Daniel Julien, born in December 1952, will celebrate his 71st birthday on 23 December at Teleperformance.

Intelcia sets its sights on the US, with the arrival of Peter Fergus O'Brien.

We reported here on the arrival of this Irishman, who has worked with some of the biggest names in the sector, including Sitel and Teleperformance.

Konecta : the Spanish take over

Just over a year after the departure of Maxime Didier, founder of the group that went by several names (B2S, Comdata), the departures of Frédéric Donati and probably that of Patrice Mazoyer (or his move to the Konecta group? ) in the next few weeks, suggest that Charles Martel is no longer stopping anyone in Poitiers, a hotbed of customer relationship outsourcing.

Jesus Vidal Barrio, co-founder of Konecta, recently took over as chairman of the holding company Comdata France. Alix Ait-Said, formerly of Teleperformance, replaces Frédéric Donati as Sales Director.

Marc Labarre, another sales executive, recently took over as Managing Director of the Customer Relations BU, with Adm Value, a subsidiary of Tessi. He has since largely recruited ex-Comdata staff, as detailed above.

Teleperformance. Majorel

The Rolling Stones may be releasing a new album, but it's the composition of the new group that is of more concern to the world's number 1, where everything seems to be at a standstill, at least on the French-speaking market. The share price, which was close to 400 euros just before the end of 2022, has plummeted to 117 euros today. Still a member of the CAC 40, the world leader is suffering from the anxious visions that the arrival of AI, or artificial intelligence, is arousing among analysts. But Blackrock believes in it, and recently broke the 5% barrier.

Webhelp. Olivier Duha has become Vice-Chairman of the new Concentrix + Webhelp entity

How much longer will the Americans from Concentrix be paying rent on Webhelp's vast and beautiful premises in the 17th arrondissement of Paris? A recent visit to the premises may have prompted them to make a few savings on property rentals.

SoMezzo

Among the mid-market players, there has been no major movement in recent weeks, apart from the end of the mission of Ivan Panetier, who for more than a year helped the Chairman, Christophe Bouyssonnade, to revitalise the commercial activities of one of the Franco-Tunisian champions of the sector.

Savings are the order of the day everywhere. Forty-five years after Teleperformance was founded in 1978, a second, radically new era is beginning for the French Doctors of the outsourced customer experience. And it's in Africa and South America that things have been happening a lot lately. In Tangiers, Cotonou and Bogota. Read more here.