Our Executive Team

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.

Candida (Candy) Davies joined RWS as Chief Financial Officer in October 2022. She oversees all aspects of the Group’s financial function. 

An accomplished leader with more than 25 years’ experience, Candy has a deep expertise in finance, strategy and business transformation, and a wealth of international experience in executing and integrating significant corporate transactions. 

Most recently Candy was Head of Finance for the Personal Health division of Royal Philips, the Dutch-headquartered health technology conglomerate, where she additionally supported the Group Innovation and Strategy function. She has considerable experience in commercial and operational leadership and played a key role in driving market innovation, new business models and solutions to support enhancing patient and consumer experience, improving health outcomes and driving sustainable performance. 

She previously spent eight years at Reckitt Benckiser as SVP Group Controller and European Finance Director for the Hygiene and Home Business Unit. After qualifying as a chartered accountant at KPMG International Ltd, Candy worked for 12 years at Eli Lilly & Co, the US pharmaceutical company. 

Candy graduated from the University of Bristol with a BSC (Hons) in Engineering Mathematics. When she’s not working Candy enjoys hiking, playing tennis, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

Benjamin joined RWS in November 2024. He joined Webhelp in October 2021 as a member of the Global Management Committee. During his tenure, he oversaw the group’s marketing functions, the Enterprise Sales team, and the Core Strategy team. He also served as CEO of the UK division, managing operations across the UK, South Africa, and India. Following Concentrix’s acquisition of Webhelp in September 2023, Benjamin transitioned to lead Catalyst, a division specializing in consulting and technology transformation for the customer experience industry. 

Before joining Webhelp, Benjamin spent 13 years at Google, where he held multiple leadership roles. His last role was leading Google Cloud for Southern Europe and Emerging Markets, helping enterprise customers modernize their infrastructure and systems through cloud technology. 

Earlier in his Google career, Benjamin managed the Global Partnerships team across Europe, working with partners to harness Google’s technology and thrive in a digital-first world. This included delivering integrated solutions and advising publishers, broadcasters, app developers, and telcos on data, programmatic, mobile, and video strategies. He joined Google in 2008 to launch YouTube across Europe and subsequently managed DoubleClick in the region following Google’s acquisition of the company. Benjamin also played a key role in integrating strategic acquisitions such as AdMob and Invite Media. 

Before his time at Google, Benjamin was CEO of AOL France, where he led a significant transformation, evolving the company from an ISP to an online publisher and premium ad network – quickly establishing it as a market leader. 

Benjamin earned his degree from ESSEC Business School in Paris. He currently resides in London with his wife and three children.

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.

Vasagi joined the Executive Team in January 2024 as President of RWS's Enterprise Services. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing Enterprise Services' overall strategic direction, leadership and growth, with a focus on supporting global high-tech customers in complex programme delivery, solution architecture, AI data services, commercial operations and partnerships. 

With over 27 years of global experience, Vasagi brings a wealth of knowledge from various leadership roles, including strategic planning and delivery, technology consulting, business development, client relationship management and engineering management in both product development and professional services organizations. Her extensive leadership experience involves supporting global technology clients in their AI initiatives. 

Prior to joining RWS, Vasagi served at Appen, where she managed a substantial portfolio in AI data services for the company's top global clients. Before that, she spent two decades at Cognizant Technology Solutions and CoreLogic, specializing in banking and financial services practice, where she managed several banking and fintech accounts. 

Vasagi holds a Master's degree in Information Technology from Kuvempu University, a Post Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Texas, and several industry certifications in Data Science, Architecture, Cybersecurity, and Business Strategy from MIT, Harvard, and HBS Online. 

Beyond her professional endeavours, Vasagi is a dedicated reader and enjoys cooking. She cherishes spending time outdoors with her teenage daughter and husband.

Thomas is President of Content Technology, responsible for driving growth across RWS’s entire Content Technology portfolio. He leads and develops its go-to-market strategy, alongside product management and engineering, solution architecture, sales, partnerships, service delivery and 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 client – understanding their challenges and how our AI 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 building high-performance teams, developing talent and driving innovation. 

Based in Portugal, Thomas is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Mark joined the Executive Team in August 2024 as President of Regulated Industries & Linguistic AI at RWS, with responsibility for revenue and profit, operations, marketing, research and development, as well as client delivery.

With a career of more than 15 years at RWS, Mark has deep expertise, based on many years of collaboration with and development of solutions for Fortune 500 companies. 

Previously General Manager of RWS’s Linguistic AI business unit, Mark has a proven track record in assembling and leading high-performing teams dedicated to overcoming clients’ language and content transformation challenges with the latest advances in AI. Based in New York, Mark is a graduate in Communication and International Business and is passionate about people, technology and positive change.

In his spare time, Mark valiantly tries to keep up with his children on the water in the summer and on the slopes in the winter, though they often leave him in their wake.

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.

Amanda joined the Executive Team in October 2023 as President of RWS’s Global Content Services. She leads a unified team that brings together RWS’s linguistic, cultural and intellectual property expertise – alongside AI-enabled technologies – to support clients at any stage of their globalization journey.

She has more than 20 years’ experience in the localization industry, starting as a translation project manager in 2000 and later becoming Vice President of a Global Project Management Office. Amanda was appointed Executive Vice President of RWS’s Strategic Solutions Group in 2022. Before joining RWS Amanda worked as a Spanish to English translator in Mexico and subsequently joined AT&T as a Project Manager. 

Her operational experience in some of the most demanding environments and proven history in maintaining long-term client relationships enable her to develop highly effective strategies for companies looking to manage their innovation lifecycle and engage with global audiences. 

She has a BA in languages from Liverpool University and a postgraduate degree in IT at Newcastle University, as well as qualifications from the Project Management Institute. 

A mother of two sports-mad daughters, Amanda spends most weekends cheering them on at national and international diving competitions, as well as volunteering to run diving events.

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.

Jacqui was appointed Chief People Officer in October 2024 and is responsible for RWS’s global human resources strategy, including global talent acquisition, leadership development, colleague engagement and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. She is an ambassador for RWS’s values, cultivating an environment where colleagues have an opportunity to be their best as part of a diverse global team. 

A commercially-focused people leader with proven international expertise, Jacqui excels at developing HR strategy and delivering results in diverse and rapidly changing environments. She is passionate about giving a voice to people issues and developing creative solutions that deliver positive business outcomes. 

She brings more than 25 years’ experience across several industries including the electronics, construction, hire services and testing, inspection and certification sectors. Before joining RWS she was Group Chief Human Resources Officer at EDM Group and has held HR Director positions at Sherwin-Williams and Exova Group Limited. 

In her spare time Jacqui enjoys spending time with her family and is a keen animal lover with three cats and a horse to keep her busy.