SDL.L Regulatory News (SDL)

SDL plc

Board Change

Appointment of CEO

23 March 2016, Maidenhead, U.K. - SDL plc ("SDL", "Group" or the "Company"), a leader in global content management and language translation software and services, announces today the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer.

Following an extensive international search process, the Company is pleased to announce that Adolfo Hernandez will join the Board and will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer on 18 April 2016.

Prior to joining SDL, Adolfo was CEO of Acision Limited from July 2013 to August 2015, a privately held mobile communications software company specialising in messaging systems, which he turned around prior to its merger with Comverse, Inc. on 6 August 2015 to form Xura, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESG).

Before that Adolfo spent four years (2008 to January 2013) at Alcatel-Lucent (EPA:ALU), with his most recent position being Executive Vice President, Global Software Services and Solutions. In this role, Adolfo was responsible for all of Alcatel-Lucent's software application solutions and services business globally, and headed up their strategic industry domains across utilities, transportation and government managing support, operational, professional and consulting services teams.

Adolfo also held senior management roles at Sun Microsystems, Inc., where he was responsible for all aspects of its services business around the world. From 1992 to 2001 he also spent nine years with IBM (NYSE:IBM) in London and Munich where he held a variety of sales leadership positions in the areas of eBusiness and Open Systems.

No disclosure obligations arise under paragraphs (1) to (6) of LR 9.6.13 R of the UK Listing Authority's Listing Rules in respect of this appointment.

David Clayton, currently Executive Chairman of SDL will revert to the role of Non-Executive Chairman following a full handover of his executive leadership role and responsibilities to Adolfo.

David Clayton, Executive Chairman of SDL said:

"The Board is delighted to welcome Adolfo Hernandez to SDL. Adolfo has a clear ability to build and run very large scale, complex businesses and is a proven CEO with strong leadership credentials. His software and services background, strong understanding of the technology heritage of our business and significant international experience make him a natural choice for us.

The Board recently announced that following a thorough review of the Group's activities, SDL will refocus around a language centric strategy and Adolfo is well placed to take SDL to the next phase of its journey towards global leadership."

Adolfo Hernandez said:

"The Board has recently taken some important decisions in relation to the future direction of the Company, decisions which I support strongly. The language-centric products, that have established SDL as a market leader, are a solid foundation for delivering further additional shareholder value and I look forward to working with everyone at SDL in driving the business forward."

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About SDL

SDL (LSE: SDL) is the leader in global content management and language solutions. With more than 20 years of experience, SDL helps companies build relevant digital experiences that deliver transformative business results on a global scale. Seventy-nine of the top 100 global brands trust SDL to simplify the complexity of managing content across multiple brands, websites, languages and devices. Go global faster with SDL. Learn more at SDL.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.