Cegid Marks Leadership Evolution and Underscores Accelerating Growth Trajectory

These appointments underscore Cegid’s leadership achievements within its main markets (Small Business, Corporate, and Accountancy, Retail) in France, Iberia, Germany and internationally. They ensure the company’s continued development at a time when the challenges and opportunities for Cegid’s customers have never been greater, consistent with the strategic ambitions around which the entire company and its leadership are aligned.

Pascal Houillon, who has built Cegid’s trajectory of success, continues his commitment to the company as a Board member and is appointed Senior Advisor to Silver Lake

Since joining Cegid in March 2017, Pascal Houillon has completely transformed Cegid into a leading software player in Europe. Of particular note is the more than tripling of the company’s Revenue since 2017 to reach 1 billion euros, the development of its international presence, the completion of several key acquisitions in France and Europe – EBP (France), Grupo Primavera (Iberian Peninsula), Meta4 (Spain), sevdesk (DACH), Talentsoft (France) and the establishment of a leadership position in the European SaaS management software market.

With its strategic plan Cegid Forward.ai, and the remarkable launch of Cegid Pulse, the company is on its way to becoming the key player in Europe in management solutions with embedded generative AI functionalities. Cegid is now very well placed in the buoyant market of European Micro and SMB companies in a context of electronic invoicing reform in France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, and beyond.

He is stepping down from his role as CEO, and is now joining Silver Lake, Cegid’s majority shareholder, as Senior Advisor, remaining a significant Cegid shareholder and a member of the Board of Directors, where he will continue to be deeply engaged in the development of the company.

“I am very proud of the progress made in recent years and the many successes of the company. I would like to thank the more than 750,000 customers for their trust and the Cegid teams for their unconditional commitment to serving our customers and the company and Silver Lake for entrusting me with the leadership role since 2017. I am particularly confident in the future of Cegid, and the continuation of its strategic plan Forward.ai. New opportunities are opening up for Cegid in particularly dynamic and demanding markets, with exciting challenges. Together with Silver Lake and Christian Lucas whom I thank for his trust since 2017, I will continue to actively contribute to Cegid’s ambitious growth in support of Bruno and the rest of the team, and I look forward to continuing to be part of this great adventure,” said Pascal Houillon.

Christian Lucas, the pillar of continuity in Cegid’s Board of Directors since 2016

Christian Lucas, Managing Partner of Silver Lake (Cegid’s majority shareholder), and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Cegid since 2016, becomes Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cegid. Jean-Michel Aulas, Cegid’s founder, will remain on the Board and assume the role of “Honorary Chairman”.

“This governance transition represents a natural evolution in the journey of our investment in Cegid which began nine years ago, in April 2016. Jean-Michel Aulas, founder of Cegid, and I, on behalf of Silver Lake and all the shareholders, would like to extend our sincere thanks to Pascal for his significant achievements during his tenure. Over the last years and under the leadership of Pascal Houillon, Cegid has successfully consolidated its fundamentals and took on the major technological shifts that will lead to the future (Cloud, SaaS, generative AI) very early on while meaningfully expanding the business within its core markets and internationally. A new chapter is now opening up for Cegid, which will undoubtedly be marked by a continuity of strategic foresight and operational excellence, while we intensify our efforts and commitment to our clients and partners incl. the CPAs who continue to form the core of Cegid’s business. For this next step, Silver Lake remains fully committed as the majority shareholder of Cegid and will continue to invest both human and financial resources in further developing the company over years to come – as we have been doing since our initial investment. We have full trust in Bruno and in the Cegid team, and we are thrilled to pursue our successful partnership with Pascal as well as Jean-Michel Aulas who will both remain active on the Board.”

Bruno Vaffier, the rise of a versatile and experienced leader to head Cegid’s activities

Since joining Cegid in June 2024 as Chief Operating Officer (COO), Bruno Vaffier has successfully led a range of Cegid’s most critical functions including the CFO Office (Finance Department, IT Department, Legal Department, M&A Department and Purchasing Department), the Customer Experience & Customer Care teams as well as the operational and financial performance of the Professional Services activities. Bruno is a highly experienced leader with a successful track record at the helm of several of the leading European technology businesses. His vast experience, knowledge of Cegid, as well as his strong financial, technological and operational acumen, are major assets that will be instrumental in driving the continued strong growth of the group internationally and continuing the Cegid’s major technological and operational transformation projects as part of the Forward.ai strategic plan.

Bruno Vaffier becomes General Manager of Cegid as of today and leads Cegid’s Management Committee going forward.