Dive Brief:
- Kyndryl Holdings appointed Ellen Johnson as its CFO and Andrew Bonzani as its new general counsel and secretary, roughly five months after accounting problems roiled the New York-based company’s leadership, the company said Monday in a securities filing and press release.
- Johnson, who will take the finance reins on July 20, previously served as finance chief of Interpublic Group which was acquired by the marketing and sales giant Omnicom last year. Bonzani, who also hails from IPG where he was most recently general counsel, will begin serving as Kyndryl’s general counsel and secretary immediately, according to the release.
- The two new executives replaced interim executives appointed in February after then-CFO David Wyshner and General Counsel Edward Sebold abruptly left. At that time the company disclosed that it was reviewing its cash management practices and internal controls in the wake of a request from the Securities and Exchange Commission for documents related to those matters.
Dive Insight:
Kyndryl’s shares ticked up 0.29% to close at $12.29 on Monday though the stock is down about 54% this year to date.
Martin Schroeter, Kyndryl’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement that the new executives would strengthen the business as it pursues its growth strategy. “Ellen and Andrew are experienced leaders in driving financial discipline, operational excellence and strong governance at global, public companies,” Schroeter said in the release.
Johnson, 60, previously worked for the global advertising and marketing company IPG from 2000 to 2025, according to the filing. She recently served as an adviser in residence at the EY Center for Executive Leadership.
At Kyndryl, Johnson’s compensation will include an annual base salary of $1 million. She is expected to receive a fiscal long-term incentive award with a target grant value of $4.5 million as well as a “special sign-on” RSU award with a grant date value of $1.5 million, according to the filing.
On Feb. 9, the shares slumped after Kyndryl announced Wyshner and Sebold would step down from their roles immediately and the company would be unable to file its fiscal 2026 Q3 report because it needed more time for its audit committee to complete its review, CFO Dive previously reported.
Subsequently, on Feb. 17, the company disclosed material weaknesses in its delayed filing for its fiscal third quarter for 2026 but said there had been no restatement of current period or any previously reported financial statements and noted that it has a remediation plan to enhance and update its internal controls. In an update in the company’s May 10-K filing Kyndryl said it expects to remediate the material weaknesses by the end of March 2027.
In May the company reported net income for the fiscal 2026 year ended March 31 fell to $198 million on reported revenues of $15.1 billion, from $252 million in net income a year earlier as revenues were about flat.
Kyndryl did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
