Bill Nuti, the president and CEO of Atlanta-based financial technology company NCR plans to step down citing health reasons, part of a shakeup of executive roles the company announced Thursday.
Nuti, who is based in New York, will remain in his role until a new chief executive is found. He will transition into a consulting role and carry the title of chairman emeritus, according to a news release.
Paul Lagenbahn, the company’s executive vice president over software, has been named chief operating officer. He will replace Mark Benjamin, who resigned to “pursue an opportunity outside NCR.”
The leadership shakeup comes as NCR recently moved into its Midtown Atlanta campus from Gwinnett County and amid the company's ongoing evolution into a software and services firm from its roots as the inventor of the cash register. NCR has retained the Spencer Stuart firm to complete a search for a new CEO, which is expected to last for a couple of months.
“I woke up every day as Chairman and CEO of NCR never taking for granted the extraordinary honor it is to lead this great company,” Nuti said in the release. “I have always felt immense pride being an employee of NCR. It’s a very special company, with incredible people who work hard every day to serve our customers and build something truly great. I want to thank the people of NCR, past and present, for their dedication, focus, and results.”
Nuti joined NCR in 2005 and arguably made the most consequential change in the company’s history in 2008 when he relocated NCR’s headquarters from Dayton, Ohio, where NCR was founded in 1884, to Duluth.
Then in January 2015, NCR announced plans to build a new headquarters campus in Midtown at Technology Square, a project that ultimately grew to include two towers and more than 5,000 workers.
The company had mulled job cuts in Georgia before making known its plans for relocating to Midtown, The Atlantaq Journal-Constitution reported in February 2015.
NCR’s first Midtown tower opened in January, and the second is expected to open by the end of this year.
During Nuti’s tenure, NCR branched out from its traditional hardware, such as cash registers and automated tellers, to software and the internet-of-things or IoT, which is when machines communicate with one another.
NCR has worked to transform itself into an “omni-channel leader,” helping merchants reach customers seamlessly in store, online and through mobile devices.
NCR has about 30,000 employees. The company reported revenue last year declined by about 6 percent to $2.58 billion compared to 2016, while profits dipped 14 percent to $232 million.
“While I would love nothing more than to continue as CEO, serving as a full-time executive will simply not be feasible in the near future,” Nuti said. He said he was honored to be named as chairman emeritus and “I look forward to keeping an active connection with NCR, while also focusing on my outside boards and, most importantly, spending more time on my health and family.”
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