Atento Announces Appointment of New Independent Board Director

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Atento S.A. (NYSE: ATTO, "Atento" or "Company"), one of the world's top five largest providers of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing (CRM/BPO) and leader in Latin America, announced today that Bill Payne will join the Atento board of directors, as an independent director. Mr. Payne will replace Oliver Feix, who is stepping down as a member of the Company's board.

Carlos López-Abadía, Atento's Chief Executive Officer, said, "As a new independent director of Atento's board, Bill will undoubtedly add significant value to our company, owing to his extensive experience in the customer experience sector and in the technology sector which we increasingly serve. His breadth of technology knowledge, international background and many leadership roles at tech companies strongly complement our board, whose ongoing guidance and support have been invaluable. We look forward to working with Bill as well, in advancing our Three Horizon transformation plan to drive operational excellence, build out our portfolio of higher-value next-generation digital services and products, and further penetrate new high-growth verticals and the US nearshore market. We also thank Oliver for his past contributions on these fronts as a board member."

Bill Payne has over 30 years of executive and management experience in both small, entrepreneurial, and large corporate environments and cultures, having also served in several non-executive, mentoring, advisory and consulting roles.

In addition to his current roles at several global start-up companies, such as Room Rocket, Usable Media and Excello, he is a board mentor at Critical Eye, and a venture capitalist with UK-based Octopus Investments. He is an experienced Non-Exec Director and Chair as well as a visiting Professor at several business schools, including Lancaster University, Henley Management School, Lyon Business School and the University of Surrey, where he was President of the Surrey Business School MBA program.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Payne was a senior executive at IBM, where he held leadership roles in consulting, strategy and process outsourcing in Europe and other geographies, including as General manager of the Global Customer Experience (CRM) Outsourcing Group. Mr. Payne also leads his own strategic consultancy Acadameus, which advises start-ups, mid-caps and high-growth companies.

About Atento

Atento is one of the world's five largest providers of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing (CRM/BPO) services and a leader in Latin America. Atento is also a leading provider of Nearshoring CRM/BPO services for companies operating in the United States. Since 1999, the company has developed its business model in 13 countries and has a presence in Spain and a workforce of 150,000 employees. Atento has more than 400 customers to which it provides a wide range of CRM/BPO services through multiple channels. Its clients are leading multinational companies in sectors such as technology, new digital enterprises, telecommunications, finance, healthcare, consumer consumption and public administration, among others. Atento shares are traded under the symbol ATTO on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2019, Atento was recognized by Great Place to Work® as one of the 25 Best Multinationals to Work in the World and as one of the 25 Best Multinationals to work in Latin America. For more information www.atento.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "intends," "continue" or similar terminology. These statements reflect only Atento's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance or results. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic, and governments' extraordinary measures to limit the spread of the virus, are disrupting the global economy and Atento's industry, and consequently adversely affecting the Company's business, results of operation and cash flows and, as conditions are recent, uncertain and changing rapidly, it is difficult to predict the full extent of the impact that the pandemic will have.  Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competition in Atento's highly competitive industries; increases in the cost of voice and data services or significant interruptions in these services; Atento's ability to keep pace with its clients' needs for rapid technological change and systems availability; the continued deployment and adoption of emerging technologies; the loss, financial difficulties or bankruptcy of any key clients; the effects of global economic trends on the businesses of Atento's clients; the non-exclusive nature of Atento's client contracts and the absence of revenue commitments; security and privacy breaches of the systems Atento uses to protect personal data; the cost of pending and future litigation; the cost of defending Atento against intellectual property infringement claims; extensive regulation affecting many of Atento's businesses; Atento's ability to protect its proprietary information or technology; service interruptions to Atento's data and operation centers; Atento's ability to retain key personnel and attract a sufficient number of qualified employees; increases in labor costs and turnover rates; the political, economic and other conditions in the countries where Atento operates; changes in foreign exchange rates; Atento's ability to complete future acquisitions and integrate or achieve the objectives of its recent and future acquisitions; future impairments of our substantial goodwill, intangible assets, or other long-lived assets; and Atento's ability to recover consumer receivables on behalf of its clients. In addition, Atento is subject to risks related to its level of indebtedness. Such risks include Atento's ability to generate sufficient cash to service its indebtedness and fund its other liquidity needs; Atento's ability to comply with covenants contained in its debt instruments; the ability to obtain additional financing; the incurrence of significant additional indebtedness by Atento and its subsidiaries; and the ability of Atento's lenders to fulfill their lending commitments. Atento is also subject to other risk factors described in documents filed by the company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. Atento undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Atento S.A.

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