Atkins has spent most of his career in the IT and support services, most recently with IBM.

"He has a great deal of expertise and comes from a company that practically invented outsourcing," said TripleArc chief executive Jason Cromack (pictured). "His role will be to work with the executive team to drive the business forward."

"As more and more companies look to the benefits of outsourcing, the growth opportunities are encouraging," added Atkins.

Chris Pople, JT Wong and Nick Haigh have resigned from the board. Haigh remains with the firm in the role of southern sales director. Pople and Wong have left to pursue other interests.

"Wong still has a shareholding but has no executive role in the company," added Cromack.

TripleArc will publish preliminary results in April. In a trading update the firm admitted that 2005 was a "difficult year" but it continued to generate good levels of operating cashflow, which enabled it to manage its debt more efficiently.

"This year is all about driving growth and working with our customers to deliver added-value solutions that provide them with sustainable cost savings in their communications strategies," said Cromack. "We have worked hard to ensure that the company is now on a firm footing."

TripleArc's share price rose 0.5p to 3.75p on the news.