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.

Emer is President of Enterprise Services, holding overall responsibility for developing the company’s enterprise services revenue growth that encompasses solution architecture, partnerships, data services, delivery and commercial operations. 

With more than 25 years’ experience in internationalization and enterprise software services, Emer began her career in the localization industry in 1995 when she joined one of the globe’s largest technology companies. She moved on to hold several senior product-focused positions within the company. Passionate about the role of language in global market enablement, Emer returned to the localization industry and joined Moravia IT (acquired by RWS) in 2015 as a Program Director, later becoming Chief Client Services Officer. She has since held several leadership positions within RWS. 

Emer’s focus is always on the customer and she is passionate about delivering an outstanding quality of service by partnering with her clients to build and pioneer the best-in-class solutions for their current and future needs.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Emer moved to the U.S. in 2008 where she has lived ever since. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, has a healthy curiosity about wine and is an enthusiastic curler.

Jon is President of our Regulated Industries Division and has overall responsibility for the Division’s revenue growth and profit operations and global sales. 

He is particularly skilled at growing global businesses, developing customer focused and highly collaborative teams, and leading and inspiring people. 

Jon brings over 20 years industry experience in leading sales and operations in the US, India, China, Korea and Europe. His career in the localization industry began in 1997 for a large language services provider, where he started as Business Development Director and rose to Vice President and General Manager for the company’s Global Engineering Services. 

He has a BA from Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY and Certificates from MIT Sloan Executive Education in AI and Business Strategy and Organizational Design for Digital Transformation. 

In his spare time Jon enjoys spending time with his family, boating, fishing and cycling. Jon is an avid hockey fan with a passion for his hometown team, the Boston Bruins.

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.

Thomas is President of our Language Services and Technology Division and holds overall responsibility for leading and developing the Division’s go-to-market strategy, alongside solution architecture, sales, partnerships, service delivery and commercial 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 customer – understanding their challenges and how our 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 developing talents and building high-performance teams. 

Based in Portugal, Thomas is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese and knows enough Italian to be dangerous!

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.