Guy Berruyer to be new boss at Sage

Jul 17 2010 by Karen Dent, The Journal

SOFTWARE giant Sage has named Frenchman Guy Berruyer as its new boss in a move which guarantees the plc will continue to have its headquarters in Newcastle.

Currently head of the company’s mainland Europe & Asia operations, the 59-year-old will succeed Paul Walker as group chief executive from October 1.

Mr Walker, who is will leave the Newcastle-based accounting software business after a transition period on December 1, said: “It’s a process that has taken a while. Guy has been in the business for a long time. He’s run a portfolio of businesses for us and he came from the industry originally.

“I recruited him originally to run the French business. As we developed into Europe and Asia, gradually I’ve given him more and more responsibility. He is a friend and a colleague. I have worked closely with Guy for a long, long time.”

Mr Berruyer joined the Sage board 10 years ago. Before his career with Sage, he was European director of US software company Intuit. He initially trained as an engineer and holds an MBA from Harvard University.

However, his name was not mentioned in initial speculation when Mr Walker announced in April that he was leaving the company after 26 years. Industry sources leaned towards Paul Stobart, head of the UK operations, and Paul Harrison, chief financial officer, as likely candidates for the top job.

“People looked to UK people and I think if they had looked at the annual report properly, and looked at the profile, they would have realised there were four or five good candidates there,” said Mr Walker. “Guy is probably not as well known because he’s not UK-based.”

Sage confirmed that the new chief executive, who currently works from Paris, would work out of Newcastle as his main office although he will also work from London and travel on business. He plans to relocate his family from France to London.

Mr Walker said: “He’ll clearly be spending a lot of time in Newcastle and London and he’s used to being out on the road.” And he stressed the appointment was good news for Sage’s 1,200 Great North Park staff – and the region.

“Clearly for the plc, it’s business as normal. People did speculate an external candidate may want to move the headquarters,” said Mr Walker. “So it’s really, really good news for the North East. We don’t want to lose another publicly quoted company.”

Sage, which was founded in Newcastle in 1981, has 6.2 million customers and 13,100 staff worldwide working in 24 countries. Globally, it has an annual turnover of around £1.4bn.

Mr Walker, 52, has been the business’s chief executive for 16 years but announced in his retirement in the spring. He said at the time he had decided to go while he was still young enough to try other things.