The consultancy firm said that the decision to appoint an operational manager in the finance function was an 'illustration of its willingness to restore and reinforce the links between corporate finance and our major business units'.

Dufourcq, who joined Capgemini last year as head of Central & Southern Europe, was a member of the cabinet of Jacques Barrot, as health & social affairs minister, between 1992 and 1993.

He then joined France Telecom as an executive director, before taking the role of chairman and CEO of France Telecom's internet subsidiary Wanadoo.