Tim Hurlebaus started at CGI as a software developer.
35 years later, he's walking into the CEO job at a tough moment for IT consulting firms.
Investors aren't buying the AI growth story for companies like CGI - they're betting AI replaces a chunk of the work CGI gets paid to do.
CGI Inc. (NYSE: GIB) announced the change Tuesday morning, with Hurlebaus stepping in for François Boulanger after 30 years at the company and nearly 40 in the industry.
Hurlebaus isn't an outsider parachuting in - he's spent the last two years as President and COO, running the US, UK, and Australia operations, which make up nearly half of CGI's annual revenue.
CGI booked CA$15.91 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue and employs 94,000 people. So this is a real, profitable business, not a startup running on vibes.
The board has been grooming Hurlebaus for years. CGI founder Serge Godin called him an innovative executive with the depth and experience to lead the company.
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Wall Street is asking whether AI eats CGI's lunch instead of serving it.
CGI bills hours, and AI compresses hours. That math doesn't have to break the business, but it's enough to spook the people setting price targets.
TD Securities just cut CGI's target to C$102 from C$153, and Scotiabank dropped its target to C$110 from C$120.
Those aren't tweaks - those are votes of low confidence on what the next two years of IT services demand look like.
Hurlebaus said in his first statement as CEO that AI is creating "tremendous opportunities for industry transformation" and that CGI is positioned to ride that wave.
That's the official line, but whether the numbers back it up over the next few quarters is the actual story.
Hurlebaus is being asked to thread a needle - keep CGI growing in a market that's nervous his business model is the one AI is coming for first.
The good news: he knows the company inside out. He has been there 35 years, led half the revenue base, and watched every consulting cycle since the late 1990s.
The bad news: knowing the company doesn't change the market's opinion of the sector.
Boulanger handed Hurlebaus a strong balance sheet, and now the market wants to see what he does with it.
The next quarterly report will be the first real test. If bookings hold up, the AI panic in the stock starts to look overdone. If they don't, the new CEO inherits a story he didn't write.
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