Capgemini: A french love story
The Pandemic CEO:
In the middle of the pandemic in May 2020, Capgemini decided to appoint Aiman Ezzat as its CEO. The name would have come as a surprise to a lot many because of Aiman’s background. Despite Aiman having worked as an operational bulwark throughout his career, he was appointed as group CFO. Aiman said, “The last time I learned about finance was in my B-school”. But Aiman overcame the doubts and challenges by proving his mettle in the said role. Eventually, he sealed his position in the group first as a Chief Operational Officer and then as a CEO.
Capgemini’s french romance:
French are known for their romance and devotion so is true for their companies. Capgemini has been found engaged in multiple affairs across the industry. In fact, the very existence of the group came into being when two companies- CAP and Gemini went for a merger. Choosing the name for the emergent global company could seem simplistic but the challenges in front of it never were. Later in the year 2000, Capgemini acquired Ernst and Young consulting for $11 billion.
In 2019, Capgemini did it again and acquired Altron-reaping 75% of its revenue from Innovation consulting- for $4.1 billion. The group has a firm belief that the acquisition would enable Capgemini to widen its scope of business operations. Capgemini plans to transform itself from an Information Technology company to an Innovative Technology company by investing in the future.
Growth strategies
Capgemini has always followed the inorganic route of large acquisitions which is in contrast with its Indian counterparts. Tata Consultancy Services relies on its in-house potential and follows a grow-your-own approach. Infosys adopts a middle path by going forward with small-ticket acquisitions as and when needed.
Future industry scope:
With the advent of Industry 4.0, the entities no longer function as standalone devices but rather as a cog in the wheel of the solution framework. For example, Tesla cars are plugged in their wider software architecture. With the newfound scope of technology in such areas, Capgemini hopes new requirements to evolve in the space. Recently, Capgemini not only designed a complete Electric vehicle for an auto manufacturer but also the manufacturing plan of delivering the plan at that cost. It also requires the company to groom its talents in a way where they can don multiple hats.
