New Unisys CEO Snags Ex-Accenture Exec to Lead Services Unit

Peter Altabef has made his first big hire as Unisys' CEO, luring longtime Accenture executive Neil Gissler out of retirement to turn around Unisys' services organization.

As senior vice president of services, Gissler will be leading a new division responsible for managing client service centers, software development centers and data centers for the Blue Bell, Pa.-based company, No. 17 on the CRN Solution Provider 500 list. Unisys' services delivery operations used to be housed in the company's Enterprise Solutions division, which will continue to be overseen by Ron Frankenfield.

"Neil brings an impressive and hard-to-find combination of leadership capabilities, industry knowledge, consulting expertise and technology expertise," Altabef, who started at Unisys on Jan. 1, said in a statement. "I am confident that under his leadership, we will deepen and enhance Unisys' strong reputation for providing superior service to clients around the world."

[Related: New Unisys CEO Calls For Stronger Software Solutions, Vertical Focus]

Gissler put in 28 years at system-integration giant Accenture, including 14 as a senior executive, before retiring in August. Gissler spent his final 20 months at the Ireland-based company, No. 3 on the CRN SP 500, as the Global Technology Consulting lead, where he was responsible for sales and delivery of all IT strategy, enterprise architecture, infrastructure and security consulting services.

Before that, Gissler spent more than 40 months leading Accenture's North America Technology Growth Platform, where he managed a staff of more than 22,000 and oversaw the company's multibillion-dollar IT consulting and outsourcing business. From his time at Accenture, Gissler additionally has deep expertise in end-user services, application services and cloud services.

"I am very excited to join an organization with the rich history and potential of Unisys," Gissler, who started at Unisys on Monday, said in a statement. "The continued evolution and pace of change in technology provides a significant opportunity for Unisys to proactively share our point of view with clients and assist them in driving greater value for their enterprises."

Gissler faces a tall order at Unisys, where year-over-year service revenue fell 8 percent in the most recent quarter after factoring in foreign currency exchange rates. The services weakness was felt across the board, with systems integration sales off 11 percent and IT outsourcing sales down 10 percent.

The division results mirror Unisys' overall struggle, with the company recording losses in seven of the previous 12 quarters.

Services made up 80 percent of Unisys' overall revenue in the most recent quarter. Many of those capabilities, though, will remain under Frankenfield in the Enterprise Solutions organization, which is responsible for bringing IT solutions to Unisys' commercial clients and non-U.S. government clients.

Altabef said during Unisys' January earnings call that he wanted to grow the company's services revenue while acknowledging that Unisys hadn't consistently delivered in that space. He said he hopes to do that by focusing on vertically aligned and value-added solutions in areas such as security, along with developing software and integrated solutions that can differentiate the company's services business.

Although Gissler is Altabef's first outside executive hire, it's not the only executive move Altabef has made since taking the reins. In February, Venkatapathi "PV" Puvvada had the "acting" removed from his title and became the official president of Unisys Federal Systems, which oversees federal business. Puvvada has held a variety of federal roles since joining Unisys in 1992, and became interim president of the division in July 2014.

Altabef took over for Ed Coleman, who left Unisys in December after leading the company for six years. When announcing Coleman's departure in October, Unisys said it was the "right time" for a change.

PUBLISHED APRIL 13, 2015