DXC Americas Chief Out As Earnings Release Approaches

DXC Technology’s Americas boss, Karan Puri, has left the company just as the IT services giant prepares to release its latest quarterly earnings next month. The company’s stock sunk some 19 percent on Wednesday on the news, which was first reported by The Register.

Executive Vice President & General Manager, Americas, Puri joined the Washington, D.C. solution provider in January amid a tide of senior executives departing. The Register reported Puri’s departure, citing an internal memo they had seen. In the memo, DXC CEO Mike Lawrie states that Puri is gone, but does not give any indication about what led to the split.

The memo is two weeks old, dated Oct. 9, however Puri’s LinkedIn profile does not reflect the change.

“Today I am announcing that Karan Puri will be leaving DXC Technology at the end of this week. I know you will join me in wishing Karan well in his future endeavours,” the memo states, according to The Register.

In the memo, Lawrie states that meeting revenue goals are a priority as well as installing accountable, disciplined leadership, focusing on its go-to-market strategy, and becoming the digital transformation company of choice.

Tysons, Va.-based DXC confirmed the departure, but declined further comment.

“We can confirm that Karan Puri has left the company,” said Richard Adamonis, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Global Marketing & Communications.

DXC has an earnings call planned for Nov. 6, and an investor day planned for Nov. 8. Early this afternoon, DXC filed an 8-K with the SEC stating that the firm would have no comment on “rumor or speculation.”

“DXC does not comment on rumor or speculation, nor can the Company comment during a blackout period,” the form states. “The Company will be reporting second quarter results on November 6th, and will hold an Investor Day on November 8th. At that time, the Company looks forward to talking further with its shareholders about prospects for the industry, the opportunities ahead, and DXC’s breadth and scale to capitalize on those opportunities.”

In the form, DXC reiterated guidance stated previously of earnings per share of $7.75 to $8.15 for Fiscal 2019, and that it is trending toward the higher end of that range.

DXC stock was down on Wednesday afternoon $17.08 to $70.48 per share, a drop of 19.51 percent.

Puri did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message seeking comment.

DXC had seemed to be on a winning streak. Earlier this year, the company spun off its government services business into Perspecta, which started trading in June.

Then in August, DXC Technology and Amazon Web Services announced they were joining forces to build a new multi-billion dollar enterprise dubbed DXC-AWS Integrated Practice that will deliver IT migration services to clients around the world.

The DXC - AWS Integrated Practice was said to offer clients secure, cloud-first solutions that combine the breadth and depth of cloud services offered through AWS with DXC enterprise services to enable them to innovate in their industries, be more agile, and better adapt to dynamic market conditions with speed and at scale -- while also modernizing their operations for a digital era.

Then in September, DXC Technology deepened its Salesforce capabilities with the acquisition of an Australian Platinum Salesforce partner. System Partners, which has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand, buildt on DXC’s digital transformation strategy and cloud-first focus.