Computacenter shares slide on CFO's sudden departure
By Josh White
Date: Monday 16 Dec 2024
(Sharecast News) - Computacenter announced on Monday that Christian Jehle has stepped down as group chief financial officer and as an executive director of the board with immediate effect.
The FTSE 250 company said the decision was made by mutual agreement between Jehle and the company.
It said Jehle would remain with Computacenter as an employee until 31 December, to support a smooth transition of his responsibilities.
In the interim, his duties would be managed by the broader finance team alongside the existing executive management team.
The firm said its nomination committee had initiated the search for a successor, with further updates to follow.
Under the terms of his departure, Jehle would continue to receive his base salary, pension, and benefits until the end of his employment.
He would also be paid in lieu of notice for the balance of his 12-month notice period.
Additionally, he remained eligible for a 2024 annual bonus, subject to performance targets, to be assessed by the remuneration committee.
Jehle would retain outstanding deferred bonus and buy-out awards, though his 2023 and 2024 performance share plan awards would lapse on 31 December.
"The UK stock market only has a small selection of mid or large-cap tech-related stocks and these names are constantly under the microscope," noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
"Computacenter fell more than 6% after a mysterious announcement that its chief financial officer had left immediately by mutual agreement.
"The fact he is still eligible to receive a bonus for the year implies he is not categorised by HR as a 'bad' leaver, yet the sudden departure creates a lot of uncertainty."
Mould noted that there was "no explanation" as to why he was leaving, which had troubled markets.
"There is now a guessing game as to whether Computacenter has found something lurking in the closet or there's another reason why the CFO has gone."
At 0856 GMT, shares in Computacenter were down 6.48% at 2,093p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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