Benjamin Faes Joins RWS as Chief Executive Officer

Former Google managing director brings 25 years’ experience to drive next stage of company’s growth

CHALFONT ST PETER, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RWS Holdings plc ("RWS", "the Company" or "the Group"), a unique, world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property solutions, announces that, with effect from today, Benjamin Faes (Ben) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director of RWS.

A highly experienced business leader, Ben has spent more than 25 years in digital transformation and leadership roles across the technology and media sectors, creating and leading international teams in sales, partnerships and marketing. Ben brings deep expertise in leveraging technology to transform businesses and drive profitable organic growth.

After eight years at AOL, culminating in the role of Managing Director for France, Ben joined Alphabet in 2008 where he pioneered the monetization of YouTube across Europe. He was subsequently appointed to a series of leadership roles for Google in the EMEA region before becoming Managing Director of Google Cloud for Southern Europe and Emerging Markets.

"I’m proud to join RWS during such a pivotal moment for the business,” said Ben Faes, CEO of RWS. “The industry is clearly undergoing significant change, and the Group is successfully adapting by prioritizing new growth opportunities and enhancing its impressive technology and AI capabilities. I look forward to collaborating with RWS’s talented teams and to guide the Group through its next stage of development."

Ben joined Webhelp as UK CEO in 2021, a global customer experience management company and, following the acquisition of Webhelp by Concentrix, he led the transformation and technology team at Concentrix Catalyst in his most recent role.

Commenting on Ben’s appointment, RWS’s Chairman, Julie Southern, said, “Ben’s extensive international experience in creating new revenue streams and executing go-to-market strategies will be invaluable to the Group as we continue to enhance and expand our portfolio of AI-driven services and software. We are delighted to welcome Ben to the business and look forward to working closely with him to drive the next stage of the company’s growth.”

As announced on 1 October 2024, former Chief Executive Officer Ian El-Mokadem will remain available to support a smooth handover until the end of January 2025 when he will leave the Company.

Julie Southern commented, "We deeply appreciate Ian’s leadership of RWS over the past three and a half years. Under his guidance, alongside our broader leadership team, the Group has achieved significant milestones in line with its strategy. I would also like to thank Ian for his dedication and continued support over the past six months as we worked to appoint his successor."

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 45+ 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 60+ 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.