Talentia has announced the appointment of Pierre Polette as CEO. The appointment is the latest chapter in a meteoric rise for the Frenchman. Surprisingly Polette has little experience within the HR software industry. His choice, apparently was due to his track record in growing companies.
Polette founded XS Pôle Sécurité in 2001. The business grew successfully to 30 people and was acquired by Lexsi in 2007. He was appointed CEO of Lexsi group in 2009. That business grew successfully, doubling it revenues. It was sold to the cybersecurity division Orange Business services in 2016. By then it has more than 400 active customers across Europe and more than 170 employees. Polette stayed on for nine months until December last year and over the last few months has helped start-up companies.
While he has some experience in a larger corporate at Orange, Talentia is the largest organisation he has run. Talentia has 450 employees spread across eight countries. It has more than 3,600 customers which have a presence In over 30 countries.
What he does bring is a dynamic energy to grow companies. Talentia has an experienced management team with Viviane Chaine-Ribeiro as President but clearly wanted a fresh approach. He should bring a dynamism to the company as it looks to grow in an increasingly competitive market. US software vendors such as Workday are making inroads in France and to continue its growth Talentia needs to up its game.
Chaine-Ribeiro commented: “I am delighted to welcome Pierre Polette as our new CEO today. He has all my trust to further grow our company; he has the experience and the leadership to strengthen Talentia’s position on our markets! I am certain that he will lead us through our next phase of growth and open new perspectives both in France and internationally”.
What does this mean
Polette recently celebrated his 47th birthday and is clearly excited by his new role. He commented: “I am thrilled to take over the management of Talentia Software, and embark on this a great human adventure and high potential project. Together with our shareholders and Viviane Chaine-Ribeiro, I am committed to meet the company’s objectives, including becoming a major corporate performance software player in Europe. Thanks to all Talentia Software teams and to our partners, we will continue to offer our customers market reference product offerings and expertise. ”
What isn’t clear yet is what this will mean for Talentia. Will it have a change in strategy? Polette will likely take the first few weeks to meet customers, partners as well as staff and to understand the industry he has entered. The strategy he then devises with Chaine-Ribeiro will then be interesting to see.
