RWS appoints European tech heavyweight Benjamin Faes as CEO

(Alliance News) - RWS Holdings PLC on Tuesday confirmed Benjamin Faes, a former Google director and tech industry stalwart, will be RWS's next chief executive officer.

The Buckinghamshire, England-based software developer focused on technology-enabled translation said Faes will join the company as CEO-designate on December 2. This follows an October announcement that current CEO Ian El-Mokadem will leave RWS.

El-Mokadem in May notified the company of his intention to step down. After his departure was confirmed, Diploma PLC reported that El-Mokadem will join the firm as a non-executive board member, following his departure from RWS at the end of January.

The official handover is scheduled for January 6, with El-Mokadem remaining on-hand until the end of the month to support the transition.

Incoming CEO Faes spent eight years at AOL, where he became managing director for France, before joining tech conglomerate Alphabet Inc in 2008 and launching the monetisation of YouTube across Europe. Faes went on to work for Google in the EMEA region, serving as managing director of Google Cloud for Southern Europe and Emerging Markets.

Faes became UK CEO of customer service manager Webhelp in 2021, and in his most recent position led the transformation and technology team, following Webhelp's merger with Concentrix Corp.

Faes said he was excited to join RWS as the company continues to adapting to a rapidly evolving technology sector: "It is clear that the industry is in transition and that the group is pivoting successfully in response with a clear focus on accessing new sources of growth and adding to its already impressive technology and AI capabilities," Faes said.

RWS Holdings Chair Julie Southern welcomed Faes's "international track record in developing new revenue streams". Southern added her thanks to outgoing CEO El-Mokadem for his leadership tenure, which saw "the group returning to organic constant currency growth in the second half of FY24".

Faes will remain director of his micro-investment firm Tinarel Ltd which was incorporated last Monday.

RWS Holdings shares were down 0.5% at 149.64 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter

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