Conduent Names New Chief Accounting Officer

The business process services company turned internally for its new top accounting executive, naming a replacement just two days after it was disclosed that current Chief Accounting Officer Allan Cohen would depart.

Just two days after it was revealed that the company’s chief accounting officer would resign, Conduent has found his replacement.

Mario Pompeo – who has been the company’s chief audit executive since August 2017 -- has been promoted to the new role with a salary of $350,000, Conduent said in an 8-K filing on Thursday. He will begin working as chief accounting officer on June 14.

Pompeo, a U.S. Army veteran, according to his LinkedIn page, has a degree from Penn State and started his career in the Assurance and Business Advisory Practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Conduent stated in the 8-K filing.

On Tuesday, Conduent’s current chief accounting officer, Allan Cohen, announced he is resigning to “pursue other career opportunities.” In his resignation, he said his last day will be June 14.

A Conduent spokesperson told CRN that it has no further comment, aside from the SEC filing.

News of Cohen’s departure comes three weeks after Conduent CEO Ashok Vemuri’s announcement that he would step down as soon as the board has found a replacement, which he expects to happen by the third quarter.

The company also announced on Tuesday that it had hired Cliff Skelton as chief operating officer. Skelton comes to Conduent from Fiserv Output Solutions, where he served as president, Conduent said. He previously spent five years as executive vice president and chief information officer of Fiserv.

The COO vacancy was highlighted by ex-Conduent board member Michael Nevin in his April 8 resignation letter. He called the search for a chief operating officer a “failed process at Conduent” that had been going on “way too long.”

The Florham Park, N.J.-based business process services company had a rough start to the year. In April, it engaged in a public battle with Carl Icahn over board leadership, trading accusations via 8-K filings about whether the activist shareholder was plotting a board take over. All of that while also managing falling revenues and a lower earnings outlook.

During the first quarter earnings call earlier this month, the company announced new business signings were down 39-percent, it lost a $140 million contract with the state of California, and its largest customer reduced its sales volume, which in turn hurt revenue.