Capita Regulatory News (CPI)

Jon Lewis to retire as Chief Executive Officer; appointment of Adolfo Hernandez as CEO designate

31 July 2023

Notice of Board change at Capita  

Jon Lewis to retire as Chief Executive Officer; appointment of Adolfo Hernandez as CEO designate

Capita plc (‘Capita’ or ‘the Company’) announces that Jon Lewis has informed the Board of his intention to retire from the Company.

Jon will step down as Chief Executive Officer and a Director on the Board towards the end of the year, while remaining in the business until July 2024 to ensure an orderly transition.

He will be succeeded by Adolfo Hernandez, who will join Capita as Chief Executive Officer and Director. Adolfo is currently Vice President, Global Telecommunications for Amazon Web Services (AWS), and has had a 30-year career in the technology sector, including senior leadership roles at SDL plc and Alcatel-Lucent. 

Jon has served Capita as CEO and Director since December 2017 and has led the successful transformation of the Group.

He informed the Board last year that he was interested in exploring his future options, including eventual retirement from Capita and handover to a new CEO, once the business had pivoted to growth following its completed turnaround and a potential successor had been identified. Following these discussions, the Board commenced a succession-planning process.

David Lowden, Chairman of Capita, said: "On behalf of the Board and everyone at Capita, I would like to offer our sincere thanks to Jon and pay tribute to his significant commitment and achievements at Capita over the past five years.

“He has shown outstanding leadership and determination in rebuilding Capita from the ground up. It is now a purpose-led business which Jon has refocused, strengthened and returned to growth, while rebuilding client trust and improving colleague engagement. He should be rightly proud of his achievements.

“I also want to pay particular tribute to his leadership in recent months, during which he decided to delay his possible retirement from Capita due to the cyber incident we experienced in March.” 

David Lowden added: “We carried out a thorough search for a successor to Jon and are delighted to have secured Adolfo Hernandez as Capita’s new CEO. Adolfo has a great track record in accelerating revenue growth driven by digital services and, as we look to deliver on the next stage of our development at Capita, his appointment is testament to the exciting potential for the business.”

Jon Lewis said: “It has been a privilege to lead the turnaround of Capita over the past five years. I remain fully committed to delivering the Group’s strategy and enabling a smooth transition to Adolfo as the new CEO over the coming months.

“I remain indebted to the 50,000 colleagues across Capita for their hard work, commitment and professionalism during my time as CEO.

“I have the greatest respect for the achievements of Capita’s people around the world, whom I have been proud to lead and who have earned the trust of our valued clients, suppliers and other stakeholders.”

Adolfo Hernandez said: "I am very excited to be joining Capita. The Group is in strong financial health and well positioned for accelerated revenue growth in both its public service and customer experience markets, with a healthy pipeline of future opportunities.

“I look forward to working with all my new colleagues and other stakeholders, as Capita continues to successfully deliver innovative digital solutions for its clients and their customers.”

Capita will announce half-year results on 4 August 2023. Trading for the first six months of the year has been in line with company expectations.

There is no other information to be disclosed under Listing Rule 9.6.13 in respect to Mr Hernandez.

Adolfo Hernandez’s remuneration arrangements are consistent with the terms of the Directors' Remuneration Policy approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in May 2021 and will be set out in the Company’s Directors’ Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The remuneration arrangements relating to Jon Lewis’ retirement will be disclosed in accordance with section 430(2B) of the Companies Act 2006 on Capita's website in due course.

This announcement contains inside information.

For more information, please contact:

Investor enquiriesHelen Parris, Director of Investor RelationsTel: 07720 169 269Email: IRteam@capita.co.uk

Stephanie LittleInvestor Relations ManagerTel: 07541 622838Email: IRteam@capita.co.uk

Media enquiriesCapita external communicationsTel: 0207 654 2399Email: media@capita.co.uk 

Notes to editors:

Capita is a leading provider of business process services, driven by data, technology and people. We are a purpose-led, responsible organisation­. Every day our 50,000 colleagues help millions of people, by delivering innovative, digitally enabled solutions to transform and simplify the connections between government and citizens, businesses and customers. We partner with our clients and provide the insight and technologies that give time back, allowing them to focus on what they do best and making people’s lives easier and simpler. We operate across three divisions – Capita Public Service, Capita Experience and Capita Portfolio – in the UK, Europe, India and South Africa. Capita is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (CPI.L). Further information can be found at: http://www.capita.com