Our Board

Andrew is Interim Chairman and a major shareholder in RWS. He served as the Group’s Executive Chairman between 2003 – when he floated the business on AIM – and 2023, having led a buy-in of RWS in 1995. Andrew is also Chairman of Learning Technologies Group Limited.

He started his career as a chartered accountant, worked as an investment banker, and later became the Managing Director of Croner Publications, which was sold to Wolters Kluwer in 1977. He was subsequently appointed CEO of Wolters Kluwer (UK) plc.

Andrew acquired Eclipse Publications through a management buy-in, which he sold to Reed Elsevier in 2000. He was also appointed as Non-executive Chairman of Axco Insurance Information Services by 3i prior to its sale to Wilmington plc in 2010.

In June 2008 he negotiated the purchase of Epic Group plc, the UK market leader in e-learning from Huveaux plc. Epic listed on AIM in 2013 and changed its name to Learning Technologies Group plc, at which time Andrew was appointed as Non-executive Chairman.

In 2012 he became the Non-executive Chairman and an investor in IT Governance Ltd (now GRC International plc after its flotation in March 2018), the leading provider of governance and risk management information in the cyber security space. GRC International plc was acquired by Bloom Equity Partners Management in 2024. In 2019 he was appointed as a Non-executive Director of Cera Care Ltd, a leading, tech-enabled domiciliary care provider.

Member of the Nomination Committee.

Ben joined RWS as CEO Designate in December 2024 and was appointed as Chief Executive Officer and a Director of RWS on 6 January 2025. He brings extensive expertise in leveraging technology to transform businesses, driving profitable organic growth and developing new revenue streams through innovative go-to-market strategies. 

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. 

Prior to joining RWS Ben spent eight years with AOL, culminating in the role of Managing Director for France. In 2008, Ben then joined Alphabet, 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. In 2021, Ben became UK CEO of Webhelp, a global customer experience management company. Most recently, following the acquisition of Webhelp by Concentrix in 2023, Ben led the transformation and technology team at Concentrix Catalyst.

Paul was appointed an Independent Non-executive Director of RWS on 1 January 2024. 

Paul Abbott is Chief Executive Officer of American Express Global Business Travel (“Amex GBT”), which is the leading global software and services company for travel and expense for more than 20,000 businesses around the world. Since joining in 2019, Paul has led Amex GBT through several strategic acquisitions, transforming the company's product and technology solutions and driving significant growth with SME customers. After initially leading the business as a private equity-backed joint venture, Paul took Amex GBT public on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2022. Paul also chairs the Global Business Travel Association Foundation, spearheading its strategy to drive a more sustainable and diverse future for the industry. Before Amex GBT, Paul was Chief Commercial Officer at American Express. In his twenty-four years at American Express, he served in a variety of senior roles across the business. 

Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

Graham Cooke joined RWS as a Non-Executive Director in January 2024.

He is the founder and CEO of Brava Finance, a financial technology company building AI-powered infrastructure for stablecoin credit and digital yield markets.

Graham is an experienced technology entrepreneur and product strategist, known for building successful B2B software and data businesses that combine user-centric design with the latest advances in AI and Web3. He previously founded Qubit, a leading SaaS platform for AI-driven personalisation used by over one billion shoppers per month, which was acquired by Coveo Solutions in 2021.

Earlier in his career, he was one of the first European employees at Google, contributing to the development of its Ad Platform and Google Analytics products.

He is also the author of Web3: The End of Business as Usual, exploring how decentralised technologies are reshaping industries, and serves as a Non-Executive Director of ITV plc, where he sits on the Audit and Nomination Committees.

Member of the Audit and Nomination Committees.

Frances has been an Independent Non-executive Director of RWS since November 2020. 

Previously Frances was a Managing Director at Accenture, where she held senior HR positions both locally (in UK and Ireland) and globally. She served as HR Director on Accenture’s UK and Ireland Executive Board, Products Operating Group Executive Board and Financial Services Operating Group Executive Board, and was Global Recruitment Director for all Executive and Partner Recruitment across 20 countries. 

Frances has been responsible for advising, designing and implementing HR change programmes for a number of Accenture businesses across multiple countries. She has led initiatives identifying and hiring external senior talent for various Accenture Executive Boards to drive growth for the business. In particular, she spearheaded and delivered programmes focused on senior diversity appointments. Frances also played a key role in the integration of senior executives and people as part of various acquisitions and acted as the HR Director for a new operating model implementation in countries where formal employee consultation was required.

Chair of the Remuneration Committee, member of the Audit and Nomination Committees.

Gordon joined RWS as an Independent Non-executive Director in November 2020, following the acquisition of SDL plc, of which he has Non-executive Director. Gordon was appointed Interim Senior Independent Director on 31 December 2025.

Gordon is the CEO of AMS, a global total workforce solutions provider of talent acquisition and contingent workforce management, internal mobility and skills development, and talent and technology advisory services. 

Prior to his current role, Gordon re-joined AMS as CFO in May 2022, having previously held that position between 2008 and 2012. He has over 25 years of experience leading financial organisations at global companies including Dell, London Bridge Software, Xansa, TMF Group and Unit4. In his executive roles he has led all aspects of corporate activity ranging from commercial negotiations, dispute resolution, restructuring and transformation management, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets activities. He has also held Non-executive roles at Sepura plc, Intec Telecom Systems plc. In each instance he served as Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Chair of the Audit Committee, member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

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.