14 December 2023

RWS Holdings plc

Appointment of Non-executive Directors

RWS Holdings plc ("RWS" or "the Group"), a unique world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services, today announces the appointment of Paul Abbott and Graham Cooke as independent Non-executive Directors with effect from 1 January 2024.

Paul Abbott is Chief Executive Officer of American Express Global Business Travel ("Amex GBT"), which is the leading global software and services company for travel and expense for more than 20,000 businesses around the world. Since joining in 2019, Paul has led Amex GBT through several strategic acquisitions, transforming the company's product and technology solutions and driving significant growth with SME customers. After initially leading the business as a private equity-backed joint venture, Paul took Amex GBT public on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2022. Paul also chairs the Global Business Travel Association Foundation, spearheading its strategy to drive a more sustainable and diverse future for the industry. Before Amex GBT, Paul was Chief Commercial Officer at American Express. In his twenty-four years at American Express, he served in a variety of senior roles across the business.

Graham Cooke is the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Qubit, a leading SaaS company in the e-commerce space, providing AI-personalised shopping recommendations to more than 1 billion shoppers per month.  He oversaw the sale of Qubit to Coveo Solutions in 2021 followed by a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and he remained an advisor to the company until 2023.  Prior to Qubit, Graham was one of the first European employees at Google, working on its Ad Platform and Google Analytics products.  Graham joined the board of ITV PLC as a Non-executive Director in 2020 where he sits on the Audit Committee and regularly contributes to ITV's digital strategy, including ITVX. Graham continues to focus on founding and developing new technologies and is a published author and speaker around technology shifts and how they will impact business strategy.

Paul and Graham will both join the Nomination Committee and each will be invited to join one of the other committees of the Board in due course.  They will both stand for election by the shareholders of the Company at the Annual General Meeting on 22 February 2024. 

Julie Southern, Chairman of RWS, commented:

"We are delighted to welcome both Paul and Graham to the Board of RWS following an extensive search process.  Their combined breadth of experience in technology platforms and solutions, implementing organisational change and driving business growth in customer-focused, international organisations further strengthens the Group's highly experienced Board.  Their appointment will be of great value as the Group capitalises on its unique platform to drive accelerated, sustainable organic growth, complemented by acquisitions.  I look forward to working with them both."

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 either Paul Abbott's or Graham Cooke's appointments to the Board.

Paul and Graham hold or have held directorships in the five years preceding their appointment at RWS as follows:

Current appointments:

Paul Abbott:

Global Business Travel Inc.

Global Business Travel Association Foundation

Graham Cooke:

ITV PLC

Web3 Book Ltd

Imagine Workshop Ltd

Federated Labs Ltd

Roystar

Appointments held in the past five years:

Paul Abbott:

None

Graham Cooke:

Qubit Digital Limited

Qubit Inc.

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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.