RWS pl : RWS Holdings plc

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

RWS Holdings plc ('RWS', 'the Group'), the world's leading provider of intellectual property support services (patent translations, international patent filing solutions and searches), commercial translations and linguistic validation, is pleased to announce that Richard Thompson will be appointed as Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 April 2017, succeeding Reinhard Ottway who has decided to retire following more than 23 years with the Group.

Richard joined RWS in 2012 as Chief Financial Officer and, following a successful three years in that position, took on the broader role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer from December 2015. In this position, Richard has successfully spearheaded the acquisition and integration of CTi into the Group, following which he has continued to oversee the Group's Life Sciences activities.

Richard's appointment as Chief Executive Officer follows an extensive search process, which considered both internal and external candidates, as part of the Group's ongoing succession planning. Richard will take up his new position from 1 April 2017, with Reinhard remaining in post until 31 March 2017, allowing for a comprehensive and smooth transition process.

The Board has commenced the search for a new Chief Financial Officer and will update on the progress of this search in due course.

Andrew Brode, Chairman of RWS, commented:

'Having considered a number of high calibre candidates, we are delighted to have appointed Richard as CEO. He brings strong experience of our industry as well as an excellent track record in successfully driving the Company's growth, meaning we are well placed to continue executing RWS's organic and acquisitive growth strategy.

'On behalf of the Board and in a personal capacity, I would like to extend sincere thanks to Reinhard for his invaluable contribution to the business over the past 23 years. After 5 years as CEO, he leaves the Group in excellent shape to continue its path of record performance and growth. I wish him well in retirement.'

For further information, contact:

RWS Holdings plc
Andrew Brode, Chairman 01753 480200

MHP Communications
Katie Hunt / Simon Hockridge 020 3128 8100

Numis
Stuart Skinner / Kevin Cruickshank (Nominated Adviser) 020 7260 1000
Michael Burke (Corporate Broker)

About RWS:

RWS is the world's leading provider of intellectual property support services (patent translations, international patent filing solutions and searches), a market leader in life sciences translations and linguistic validation as well as a high level specialist language service provider in other technical areas, providing for the diverse needs of a blue-chip multinational client base from Europe, North America and Asia. RWS is based in the UK, with offices in Europe, the USA (New York, East Hartford and Chicago), China, Japan and Australia, and is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

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