INTRODUCTION TO THE CAPGEMINI GROUP

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE CAPGEMINI GROUP
8
1967 Formation of SoGETI by Serge Kampf, on October 1, in Grenoble (France).
1970 SoGETI and OBM (Organization Bossard Michel) agree to combining IT and consulting services.
1971 Creation of Eurinfor, “facilities management” company, by SoGETI with the Cofradel Group and Lyonnaise de Banque.
1973 The 7 th “Rencontres SoGETI” in Djerba (Tunisia), the last ‘Rencontres” to which all Group employees (440) are invited.
1974 SoGETI takes control of C.A.P. (the leading French IT service company at the time) and of Gemini Computer Systems (US).
1975 January 1 marks the official birth of the Cap Gemini Sogeti Group, which, with a headcount of 1,000, becomes Europe’s top IT services
company. 9 th “Rencontres” in Istanbul (Turkey), with 270 participants.
1976 The Group moves it headquarters to 17, avenue Georges V, Paris. The first Annual Report is published (financial year 1975).
1977 The French authorities veto EDS acquiring a stake in the Group.
1978 The Group takes on the US market and sets up its first “outpost” in Washington DC (Cap Gemini Inc.).
1980 After a long tussle with the SESA, the Group gets the DGT contract to produce the French electronic phonebook by the DGT.
1981 The sale of SORINFOR marks the Group’s withdrawal from processing activities.
1982 Revenues exceed the one billion French franc (150 million euros) mark, of which half is generated outside France.
1984 To general surprise, Serge Kampf declares that English is to be the Group’s official language.
1985 Spectacular initial public offering of the Group’s shares on the Paris stock exchange (with demand 123 times the offer).
1986 The group takes control of SESA, having held a 42% stake since 1982.
1989 The Group reports a year-end after-tax profit of 7.4%, a record not yet broken.
1990 17 th “Rencontres” in Marrakesh (Morocco): the 550 participants decided on an aggressive strategy including, if necessary, joining up with
an industrial group. Shortly after, the Group makes several acquisitions: SCS in Germany, Hoskyns, the European leader in ”outsourcing”
activities, and two US companies (URC and Mac Group) to comprise the Group’s consulting “pole.” The invasion of Kuwait starts off a
global economic crisis, which lasted four years.
1991 Daimler-Benz takes a 34% stake in the holding company Sogeti (which itself controls 60% of the Group).
1992 Acquisition of Volmac in the Netherlands (3,200 employees) and Progamator in Sweden (1,600 employees). At the 18 th “Rencontres,”
which unites 700 managers in Prague (Czechoslovakia), GENESIS is launched. This is Group’s first transformation program, and
mobilizes up to 5,000 employees for over a year. By the year-end, Cap Gemini—after 25 years of consecutive growth—announces the
first losses in its history (it will be a similar story in 1993 and 1994).
1996 Under the combined pressure of the two other major shareholders, Serge Kampf accepts the “amalgamation” of the two-tiered control
of SKIP and SOGETI within the listed company Cap Gemini Sogeti.
1997 Daimler-Benz exits from its shareholding in Group Brossard Consultants (in which Capgemini has held a 49% stake for more than
20 years!) and the latter is integrated into the Group’s “consulting” arm. Celebration of the Group’s 30 th birthday during a memorable
evening at the Louvre Carrousel, Paris.
1998 Cap Gemini rejoins the Paris stock exchange’s CAC40 index (it had been on the index from August 1988 to November 1993),
2000 Acquisition of Ernst & Young Consulting (employing more than 12,000 consultants). The Cap Gemini share price rose to its highest ever
level of 368.9 euros in March, making a stock market capitalization on that day of 44.5 billion euros.
2002 Creation of a subsidiary specializing in local services and taking over the Sogeti name.
2003 Sogeti acquires Transiciel (7,000 employees); the Group signs a major multi-year contract with the British tax authorities and opens
its first “offshore” production center in Mumbai (India)
2006 Launch of the I.cube (Industrialization, Innovation, Intimacy) transformation program.
2007 Acquisition of Kanbay International, a US company with a strong presence in India and specializing in financial services
(7,000 employees). Capgemini is the main sponsor of the 6 th Rugby XV World Cup. Celebratory evening in the Louvre Carrousel, Paris,
to mark the Group’s 40 th birthday.
2008 A number of small acquisitions, including Getronics PinkRoccade in the Netherlands.
2009 Acquisitions in Romania, Vietnam and Australia. Launch of five global service lines.
REFERENCE DOCUMENT 2010 CAPGEMINI
2 2.1 Major milestones in the Group’s history
2010 Acquisition of IBX in Sweden and CPM Braxis in Brazil (5,000 employees); 23 rd Group “Rencontres” in Barcelona (Spain) around the
theme “la niaque” (fighting spirit). The Group ends the year with a headcount in excess of 100,000.