LANGUAGE WEAVER - Key Persons
Andrew is a Non-executive Director and a major shareholder in RWS. He served as the Group's Executive Chairman between 2003 - when he floated the business on AIM - and 2023, having led a buy-in of RWS in 1995. Andrew is also Chairman of AIM-listed Learning Technologies Group plc and GRC International plc.
He started his career as a chartered accountant, worked as an investment banker, and later became the Managing Director of Croner Publications, which was sold to Wolters Kluwer in 1977. He was subsequently appointed CEO of Wolters Kluwer (UK) plc.
Andrew acquired Eclipse Publications through a management buy-in, which he sold to Reed Elsevier in 2000. He was also appointed as Non-executive Chairman of Axco Insurance Information Services by 3i prior to its sale to Wilmington plc in 2010.
In June 2008 he negotiated the purchase of Epic Group plc, the UK market leader in e-learning from Huveaux plc. Epic listed on AIM in 2013 and changed its name to Learning Technologies Group plc, at which time Andrew was appointed as Non-executive Chairman.
In 2012 he became the Non-executive Chairman and an investor in IT Governance Ltd (now GRC International plc after its flotation in March 2018), the leading provider of governance and risk management information in the cyber security space. In 2019 he was appointed as a Non-executive Director of Cera Care Ltd, a leading, tech-enabled domiciliary care provider.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- RWS As Chief Financial Officer
Candida (Candy) Davies joined RWS as Chief Financial Officer in October 2022. She oversees all aspects of the Group's financial function.
Job Titles:
- Group Corporate Development Director / Group Corporate Development Director
Christopher is Group Corporate Development Director and is responsible for M&A and strategy, as well as a number of support services across our operations including Marketing and Communications.
Christopher has 20 years' experience in leadership roles across companies where he has managed teams with responsibility for delivering strategic projects and M&A.
Previously Christopher was an investment banker where he has led sector teams and advised clients in a wide range of industries on both domestic and international M&A. He has also worked in corporate development roles in a number of companies including four years at Betfair, where he oversaw the company's £1.5 billion IPO.
Christopher holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Cambridge and an ACA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
A dedicated family man and keen sports fan, Christopher spends his spare time following cricket and playing golf.
Job Titles:
- President, IP Services / President, IP Services
Job Titles:
- Non - Executive Director
- Chairman of Forensic
- RWS in 2020 As a Non - Executive Director
David joined RWS in 2020 as a Non-executive Director after the acquisition of SDL, where he had originally been appointed as a Non-executive Director in December 2009. He also served at various times at SDL as the Senior Independent Director, the Non-executive Chairman and, for a nine month period in 2015/2016, interim Executive Chairman.
Under his leadership SDL made a number of acquisitions and became one of the world's largest language services providers.
David was Managing Director and Head of European Technology Research at CSFB from 1997 until 2004. He then joined The Sage Group plc Board as a Non-executive Director in 2004 before taking up an executive role as Director of Strategy and Corporate Development from October 2007 to February 2012.
David is currently Chairman of Forensic and Compliance Systems and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the charity Changing Faces. David is also on the boards of FCS (UK) Limited, Solar Archive Ltd, Albora Technologies Ltd and is a trustee of Dixons Academies Charitable Trust Ltd.
Job Titles:
- President of Enterprise Services
- President, Enterprise Services / President, Enterprise Services
Emer is President of Enterprise Services, holding overall responsibility for developing the company's enterprise services revenue growth that encompasses solution architecture, partnerships, data services, delivery and commercial operations.
With more than 25 years' experience in internationalization and enterprise software services, Emer began her career in the localization industry in 1995 when she joined one of the globe's largest technology companies. She moved on to hold several senior product-focused positions within the company. Passionate about the role of language in global market enablement, Emer returned to the localization industry and joined Moravia IT (acquired by RWS) in 2015 as a Program Director, later becoming Chief Client Services Officer. She has since held several leadership positions within RWS.
Emer's focus is always on the customer and she is passionate about delivering an outstanding quality of service by partnering with her clients to build and pioneer the best-in-class solutions for their current and future needs.
Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Emer moved to the U.S. in 2008 where she has lived ever since. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, has a healthy curiosity about wine and is an enthusiastic curler.
Frances has been a Non-executive Director of RWS since November 2020.
Previously Frances was a Managing Director at Accenture, where she held senior HR positions both locally (in UK and Ireland) and globally. She served as HR Director on Accenture's UK and Ireland Executive Board, Products Operating Group Executive Board and Financial Services Operating Group Executive Board, and was Global Recruitment Director for all Executive and Partner Recruitment across 20 countries.
Frances has been responsible for advising, designing and implementing HR change programmes for a number of Accenture businesses across multiple countries. She has led initiatives identifying and hiring external senior talent for various Accenture Executive Boards to drive growth for the business. In particular, she spearheaded and delivered programmes focused on senior diversity appointments. Frances also played a key role in the integration of senior executives and people as part of various acquisitions and acted as the HR Director for a new operating model implementation in countries where formal employee consultation was required.
Gordon joined RWS as a Non-executive Director in November 2020.
He currently serves as the CFO of AMS, a global total workforce solutions provider of talent acquisition and contingent workforce management, internal mobility and skills development, and talent and technology advisory services. He has led Finance, Corporate Services and Operational functions as an Executive Director for over 20 years.
Previous roles include CFO of Unit4 and TMF Group. He has held senior positions with several UK listed businesses including Group Finance Director of Xansa plc and Group Finance Director of London Bridge Software Holdings plc. He has also held non-executive roles at Sepura plc, Intec Telecom Systems plc and, prior to its acquisition by RWS, SDL plc. In each instance he served as Chair of the Audit committee.
In his executive roles he has led all aspects of corporate activity ranging from commercial negotiations, dispute resolution, restructuring and transformation management, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets activities.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- RWS As Our CEO
- RWS Group As Our CEO
Ian joined RWS Group as our CEO in July 2021. He has a wealth of experience in leading large, multinational service organizations, and a strong track record of delivering growth - both organically and through acquisitions. Ian also has extensive experience in developing strategy and leading technology-enabled business transformations.
He has held Chief Executive, Board and Senior Executive roles in both UK listed and private equity backed businesses.
Previously Ian was CEO of V.Group, the world's leading ship management and marine support services business, where he oversaw a significant digital transformation programme. He was also CEO of Exova Group plc, the global materials testing and calibration services provider, which he steered through its IPO in 2014 and where he grew revenues and profitability substantially, both organically and through 18 acquisitions. Ian's earlier career included divisional leadership roles at Compass Group plc and Centrica plc as well as strategy consulting with Accenture.
Ian holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Statistics from University College London and an MBA from INSEAD.
Outside the RWS Group Ian is a Non-Executive Director of Serco Group plc and a Director of Roegate Consulting Ltd.
In his spare time, Ian enjoys spending time with his family, boating, running and going to the cinema.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel and Company Secretary / General Counsel and Company Secretary
- RWS As General Counsel and Company Secretary
Jane joined RWS as General Counsel and Company Secretary in October 2022, and holds overall responsibility for the Group's legal, governance, and compliance functions. She also oversees the company's risk management capabilities to support our future growth strategy ambitions.
A highly experienced General Counsel and Company Secretary, Jane has an outstanding record advising listed companies. She has held a mix of private practice and in-house legal roles alongside commercial and compliance roles in international organizations.
Previously Jane was General Counsel and Company Secretary of De La Rue plc, overseeing all legal and corporate governance matters, business ethics and risk management. She also spent six years with FTSE 250 company Hikma Pharmaceuticals plc as Head of Corporate and European Legal. Before then, Jane led the Investment Banking Compliance function at Nomura International and held roles in corporate broking and corporate finance at JP Morgan Cazenove.
After completing a BA (Hons) in Law from Oxford University, Jane trained and qualified as a solicitor in the Corporate Department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. In her spare time Jane enjoys tennis, running and wine tasting.
Jim is our Chief People Officer and joined RWS at the start of 2022. He has a wealth of experience in technical and technology-based international, multi-site businesses in executive HR leadership roles across the spectrum of human resources.
He has experience in both listed and private equity backed businesses and most recently was Chief HR Officer for V.Group, the world's leading ship management and marine support services business. Prior to this Jim was the Head of HR for Exova Group plc. In both roles he has demonstrated significant expertise in developing organizational capability and culture. Earlier Jim spent a significant portion of his career in the semiconductor industry with Motorola.
Jim believes that helping to foster a genuinely diverse, inclusive environment where people can be their best selves is fundamental to his role. He was raised in a family that prized community and grew up with a strong sense of empathy and the importance of people - values he has carried forward into his professional career.
He has an MA (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Glasgow and an M.Sc. in Human Resource Management from the University of Strathclyde.
Outside of work Jim is a keen runner, enjoys travel, cooking and plays golf (but please don't ask about his handicap!).
Job Titles:
- President of Our Regulated Industries Division
- President, Regulated Industries / President, Regulated Industries
Jon is President of our Regulated Industries Division and has overall responsibility for the Division's revenue growth and profit operations and global sales.
He is particularly skilled at growing global businesses, developing customer focused and highly collaborative teams, and leading and inspiring people.
Jon brings over 20 years industry experience in leading sales and operations in the US, India, China, Korea and Europe. His career in the localization industry began in 1997 for a large language services provider, where he started as Business Development Director and rose to Vice President and General Manager for the company's Global Engineering Services.
He has a BA from Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY and Certificates from MIT Sloan Executive Education in AI and Business Strategy and Organizational Design for Digital Transformation.
In his spare time Jon enjoys spending time with his family, boating, fishing and cycling. Jon is an avid hockey fan with a passion for his hometown team, the Boston Bruins.
Job Titles:
- Independent, Non - Executive Chairman
Julie is RWS's Independent, Non-executive Chairman. She was appointed to this role on 2 October 2023, having previously served as a Non-executive Director and Chairman Designate since July 2022.
She has a wealth of business, strategic and governance experience from her current and previous Non-executive Director roles. Julie is currently Chair of the Board of NXP Semiconductors, where she has been a Non-executive Director since 2013. She is also a Non-executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Ocado Group.
She has also previously held Non-executive Director positions at easyjet, where she was Senior Independent Director, at Rentokil Initial, DFS Furniture Company and Cineworld Cinemas, where she chaired the respective Audit Committees, at Stagecoach where she chaired the Remuneration Committee and at Gategroup where she chaired the Nomination and Compensation Committee.
Julie's executive career included a number of senior finance, operations and marketing roles, where she has driven significant growth and revenues, including at Porsche Cars, as Group Finance Director from 1996, before she joined Virgin Atlantic in 2000 as Chief Financial Officer with a broad management role, later becoming its Chief Commercial Officer in 2010. She was also Finance and Operations Director at WH Smith - HJ Chapman & Co. Ltd.
Julie holds a BA (Hons.) in Economics from the University of Cambridge and is a qualified chartered accountant.
Job Titles:
- Senior Independent Non - Executive Director
Lara joined RWS in 2017 and is the Senior Independent Non-executive Director
A proven leader in commercial development, Lara has delivered large scale acquisition and integration projects for several global organizations.
She joined the Economist Group in September 2019 as Chief Executive where she is focused on driving continued growth in both the core Economist business, as well as the business to business offerings of the Economist Intelligence Unit. Lara currently manages over 1,500 colleagues based in Europe, the USA and APAC.
She was previously CEO International for Ascential plc (formerly EMAP plc) and CEO of Informa Plc's Intelligence division with full P&L responsibility for a £200m portfolio of business intelligence and data assets. Prior to Informa, Lara held strategy, M&A and commercial development roles for CPA Global, Pearson, MasterCard and Lloyd's of London. During her time at Ascential plc she led international expansion into MENA, China, India and Brazil.
Job Titles:
- Chief Language Officer / Chief Language Officer
Maria is responsible for our Language eXperience Delivery platform, and oversees all localization and production processes for our client-facing teams.
Over 15 years' experience in localization has given Maria an unrivalled level of expertise. Not only does she drive the day-to-day activities of our language delivery teams, she is leading our transformation towards a data-driven, machine-first, human-centred localization process.
After graduating from university, Maria joined SDL (acquired by RWS in 2020) as a Localization Project Manager. Her first leadership role arrived in 2010 when she led SDL's operational and commercial teams in Germany. Five years later Maria moved to the operational side, leading production teams across Europe, and then globally.
Maria has a Diplom Übersetzer from the University of Heidelberg. In her spare time Maria enjoys cooking and spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- President of Our Language Services
- President, Language Services and Technology / President, Language Services and Technology
Thomas is President of our Language Services and Technology Division and holds overall responsibility for leading and developing the Division's go-to-market strategy, alongside solution architecture, sales, partnerships, service delivery and commercial operations.
With more than 20 years' experience in the enterprise software and services market, Thomas has held several leadership positions at Alcatel-Lucent, Lookout and SDL (acquired by RWS in 2020).
Thomas's priority is always the customer - understanding their challenges and how our language and content solutions can meet their current and future needs. His passion can be summarized in two words: ‘people' and ‘technology.' He truly enjoys developing talents and building high-performance teams.
Based in Portugal, Thomas is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese and knows enough Italian to be dangerous!