(Alliance News) - RWS Holdings PLC on Monday confirmed the appointment of Julie Southern as independent non-executive chair, as anticipated in its late-July announcement.

The Buckinghamshire, England-based technology-enabled language services provider said its now-former chair Andrew Brode will remain on the board as non-executive director, having formally stepped down as chair.

Southern served as chair-designate and non-executive director as part of RWS' succession planning since July 2022.

RWS said Southern "brings a wealth of business, strategic and governance experience" from her current and previous non-executive director roles. She is currently of NXP Semiconductors NV, where she has been a non-executive director since 2013, alongside being a non-executive director at Ocado Group PLC.

"Andrew has been fundamental to RWS's success since leading a buyout in 1995. He has overseen a series of significant milestones, from listing the group on AIM in 2003 to overseeing tremendous growth in revenues and profits, driven both by the underlying business and a series of acquisitions." said RWS Chief Executive Officer Ian El-Mokadem.

"Without his dedication to the group, we would not have achieved our market leading position. The board, and everyone at RWS, owes Andrew a huge debt of gratitude for his contributions over many years. We look forward to continuing to benefit from his wise counsel as a non-executive director. As we look to the future, we welcome Julie Southern as our chairman. Her leadership, strategic and governance experience will ensure that we are well positioned to deliver on our medium-to-long term objectives."

Shares in RWS were up 1.6% to 243.60 pence each in London on Monday morning.

By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter

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