CSC Suspends Cloud Exec; Conducts Internal Probe From Bribery Allegations

CSC has suspended company executive and founder of ServiceMesh, Eric Pulier, for an undisclosed amount of time while an internal investigation is conducted stemming from allegations of bribery prior to joining the company, CSC acknowledged.

Pulier has been accused of setting up a fake charity, the Ace Foundation, which was allegedly used to send over $2 million to executives of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in return for naming ServiceMesh the bank's vendor of choice and awarding the company with lucrative contracts. Two former bank executives were charged earlier this month by New South Wales police, according to Forbes, after being fired from the bank late last year.

Pulier was the chairman and CEO of Santa Monica, Calif.-based ServiceMesh before selling the company to CSC for $282 million. The multibillion-dollar solution provider acquired the company after ServiceMesh was awarded a cloud technology contract from Commonwealth Bank. That contract is now alleged to be illegal.

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Since the acquisition, Pulier has held the position of vice president and general manager at CSC while serving as the head of the company’s cloud business.

CSC confirmed Pulier’s suspension in an email, stating the company is conducting an internal investigation into him and his charity.

"We can confirm that Eric Pulier, the former head of ServiceMesh and head of strategy for CSC’s Emerging Business Group, has been suspended from the company while we conduct our investigation into events involving Mr. Pulier and his charity, the Ace Foundation," a CSC spokesperson wrote to CRN in an email. "We take this matter very seriously and are cooperating fully with all relevant authorities. CSC acquired ServiceMesh in late 2013 and we have begun our own investigation into these allegations. CSC strives to conduct its business globally with the highest degree of integrity and will ensure that these concerns are thoroughly and promptly addressed."

CSC, No. 4 on the CRN 2014 Solution Provider 500 list, spoke to CRN at the time of the ServiceMesh acquisition. Company CTO Dan Hushon told CRN in October of 2013 that the deal demonstrated CSC’s commitment to cloud as the future of the company.

"We're living under a cloud-first mandate right now," Hushon told CRN in the October 2013 interview. "It's so important for us to be leading with cloud, rather than [saying], 'Do you want some cloud with that?' That’s our new mantra."

PUBLISHED MARCH 31, 2015