Embargoed until 7am                                                                                        26 November 2024

RWS Holdings plc

Directorate change

Appointment of new CEO

RWS Holdings plc ("RWS" or "the Company"), a unique world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services, today announces that Benjamin Faes ("Ben"), 52, will be appointed as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of the Company.

Ben will join RWS as CEO-Designate on Monday, 2 December 2024 and it is anticipated that, following a handover of responsibilities, he will become CEO and a Director of the Company with effect from Monday, 6 January 2025. As announced on 1 October 2024, current CEO Ian El-Mokadem will remain available to support a smooth handover until the end of January 2025 when, as previously announced, he will leave the Company.

Ben has more than 25 years' experience in digital transformation and leadership across the technology and media sectors, creating and leading international teams in sales, partnership development and marketing. Ben will bring significant expertise in transforming businesses through the use of technology and driving profitable organic growth.

After eight years at AOL, culminating in the role of managing director for France, Ben joined Alphabet in 2008 where he launched the monetisation of YouTube across Europe. He then took a series of leadership roles for Google in the EMEA region before becoming managing director of Google Cloud for Southern Europe and Emerging Markets. In 2021, Ben joined Webhelp, a leading customer experience management company, as UK CEO and, following their merger with Concentrix, he led the transformation and technology team at Concentrix in his most recent role.

Ben Faes commented:

"I am delighted to be joining RWS at such an exciting time for the business. It is clear that the industry is in transition and that the Group is pivoting successfully in response, with a clear focus on accessing new sources of growth and adding to its already impressive technology and AI capabilities. I look forward to getting to know RWS's talented teams and leading the Group in the next phase of its development."

Julie Southern, Chairman, commented:

"I am delighted to welcome Ben to RWS. His extensive, international track record in developing new revenue streams and implementing go-to-market strategies will be a significant asset to the Group as we continue to develop and market our suite of AI-enabled services and software. I am confident that Ben's longstanding experience across sales, business development and marketing, combined with his strong technology background, will enable him to build on the strong foundations Ian has established.

"We are grateful for Ian's leadership of RWS over the last three and half years. He, and our broader leadership team, have made considerable progress in line with the Group's strategy, having brought RWS and SDL together, shaped our purpose and values, developed a refreshed range of AI-centred solutions, invested in a more efficient platform and seen the Group returning to organic constant currency growth in the second half of FY24. I would like to thank him for his continued commitment to the Group over the last six months while we have recruited his successor."

Directorships

Other than the directorships listed below, there is no further information required to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies in relation to Benjamin Faes's appointment to the Board.

Current appointments:

Tinarel Ltd

Appointments held in the past five years:

100GB Ltd

Concentrix TSC UK Ltd

For further information, please contact:

About RWS:

RWS Holdings plc is a unique, world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services. Through content transformation and multilingual data analysis, our combination of AI-enabled technology and human expertise helps our clients to grow by ensuring they are understood anywhere, in any language.

Our purpose is unlocking global understanding. By combining cultural understanding, client understanding and technical understanding, our services and technology assist our clients to acquire and retain customers, deliver engaging user experiences, maintain compliance and gain actionable insights into their data and content.

Over the past 20 years we've been evolving our own AI solutions as well as helping clients to explore, build and use multilingual AI applications. With 40+ AI-related patents and more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, we have the experience and expertise to support clients on their AI journey.

We work with over 80% of the world's top 100 brands, more than three-quarters of Fortune's 20 'Most Admired Companies' and almost all of the top pharmaceutical companies, investment banks, law firms and patent filers. Our client base spans Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and North and South America. Our 65+ global locations across five continents service clients in the automotive, chemical, financial, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, technology and telecommunications sectors.

Founded in 1958, RWS is headquartered in the UK and publicly listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L). 

For further information, please visit: www.rws.com.