Photo-me FD exits after one month
Simon Poulton has quit his interim finance director role at the world’s biggest photo booth operator after only a month
Photo-Me
International has now turned to company secretary Robert Lowes to fill the
void.
Poulton stepped down after pressure from the ousted CEO of the company
triggered the resignation of Photo-Me’s chairman and two non-executive
directors.
The company said last week: ‘Photo-Me announces that Simon Poulton, who last
month was appointed as interim group FD (although not on the board) during the
medical leave of absence granted to Jean-Luc Peurois, has resigned from that
position.’
The interim FD’s resignation is the latest in a series of setbacks for the
digital imaging giant’s finance function, but it is unclear whether he also came
under pressure to leave. ‘We’re not expanding on that and nor is [Poulton],’
said a Photo-Me spokesperson.
Poulton was specifically recruited for the role because of his six years’
experience in stopgap roles after two full-time FD jobs at fully-listed
companies.
Photo-Me operates around 22,000 photo booths worldwide, but the finance
function has been plagued by problems. Last year, group FD Jean Luc-Peurois was
forced to give up his role because of illness. Before he announced his
departure, Poulton also had to deal with the fallout from a profit warning as
Photo-Me conceded it would have to scale back its revenue forecasts.
His replacement Lowes has joined the Photo-Me board as an interim director
and ‘interim finance officer,’ the company said.
In a bid to restore investor confidence, Lowes will now be reporting to
Peurois who remains on sick leave, Photo-Me added.