CSC, a global IT services company, appointed Mike Lawrie, 58, as president and chief executive officer. He will join the company no later than March 31, 2012.

This appointment ends a three months uncertainty at CSC. Rodney Chase, a current director on the company’s board, has been appointed non-executive chairman of the board of directors, effective upon Mike Lawrie’s start as president and CEO. Mike Lawrie is currently chief executive officer of UK-based Misys plc, a global provider of IT solutions for the financial services industry publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Mysis is now finalizing its merge with Temenos. The new company will be lead by Guy Dubois, currently CEO of Temenos.

Lawrie succeeds Michael Laphen, 61, who previously announced his plan to retire after SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) investigation on accounting scandal and a UK National Health Service project renegociation.

Mike Lawrie has extensive global experience in the IT and software industry including 27 years at IBM where he served as senior vice president and group executive with responsibility for sales and distribution of IBM’s products and services worldwide. Additionally Lawrie was general manager for IBM’s EMEA business, which included operations in 124 countries and more than 90,000 employees at the time.

While chief executive officer at Misys, Lawrie helped drive significant growth in shareholder value and client satisfaction through an innovative strategy, positioning Misys as a leader in the financial services application software industry. His leadership in transforming global enterprises and driving operational excellence across complex organizations will help CSC achieve its strategic business objectives. Last year, Misys missed a proposal for acquisition made by FIS (Fidelity Information Services), the global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies.

Lawrie has been a long time champion of innovation, including advocating the development of the world’s first fully open source, standards-based health information exchange solutions. Lawrie also served as the executive chairman of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc., an industry leader in electronic health record solutions and was instrumental in the transformational merger of Misys’ Healthcare division with Allscripts, and its subsequent merger with healthcare IT solutions provider Eclipsys. His emphasis on innovative healthcare and improving patient care will help drive CSC’s strategic growth plan in the healthcare IT market.

“We are very pleased to welcome Mike Lawrie as CSC’s next president and CEO,” said Irving W. Bailey, II, lead director of CSC’s Board of Directors. “Mike has extensive experience in managing publicly-traded global companies and a reputation for driving shareholder value and helping companies to reach their potential. CSC’s rich history and experience in IT services and compelling portfolio uniquely positions the Company for strong future performance. The board is confident that Mike has the vision and wide-ranging experience to lead CSC forward, as we execute on exciting strategies in areas such as cloud computing and cybersecurity.”

“I am honored to lead CSC, a company that is redefining the IT industry with market leadership in emerging services and business solutions that transform the enterprise,” said Mike Lawrie (picture). “With a sharp focus on developing smart, technology-enabled solutions, we will continue to leverage our deep industry expertise to solve our clients’ toughest challenges, and position them for greater levels of agility, growth and innovation. I look forward to working with the board, management team and CSC’s highly talented employees to shape CSC’s future for the benefit of our shareholders, our clients, and our company.”