CSC ended four months of speculation about the identity of its next CEO late Tuesday, announcing that Mike Lawrie, currently CEO of British IT service company Misys, will become CEO of CSC by the end of March. He has already taken a seat on CSC's board.
The company began its executive search last October, when Chairman and CEO Michael Laphen announced that he would retire within a year. Rodney Chase, already a director of CSC, will replace Laphen as chairman of the company's board.
Lawrie's post at Misys is set to disappear. On Tuesday, Misys revealed it is negotiating terms of a merger with Swiss rival Temenos under which Temenos CEO Guy Dubois will head the combined company. Last year, Misys turned down a takeover bid from FIS Global, a U.S. payment services company.
Laphen wasn't the only senior CSC executive to announce his resignation last October. The same day, CSC Denmark's CEO Carsten Lind resigned. Earlier this week, he joined rival outsourcer Fujitsu as chief operating officer for its Nordic business unit.
The company has been dogged by financial problems in Denmark, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opening an investigation into alleged stock manipulationthrough fraudulent financial reporting in its Danish division.
By November, the SEC's investigation had expanded to include CSC's Australian business, the company revealed.
CSC is set to announce financial results for its fiscal third quarter later on Wednesday.
Peter Sayer covers open source software, European intellectual property legislation and general technology breaking news for IDG News Service. Send comments and news tips to Peter at peter_sayer@idg.com.