RWS AR 23 Final Single pages - Flipbook - Page 68
Corporate Governance Statement (continued)
LEADERSHIP
BOARD EVALUATION
This past year has seen several leadership changes at
Board level.
This year we undertook an internal review of the Board
and its Committees, with questionnaires circulated to all
Board members. The Board discussed the 昀椀ndings and
agreed on a number of areas for improvement. Following
the evaluation, I am satis昀椀ed that all Directors continue
to perform well in their roles and contribute e昀昀ectively.
We operate with a high level of trust, have a track record
of improved e昀昀ectiveness, and the ability to adapt and
change. These are strengths that served us well during
this year.
I was appointed Chairman on 2 October 2023, as planned
and announced in July 2022, succeeding Andrew Brode,
who remains on the Board.
The Board, and everyone at RWS, owes Andrew a huge
debt of gratitude for his contributions over many years.
We look forward to continuing to bene昀椀t from his wise
counsel as a Non-executive Director.
Candida Davies was appointed as Chief Financial O昀케cer
with e昀昀ect from 3 October 2022. She joined the Board
and the Group Executive Team on 3 October 2022.
Following Candida Davies’ appointment, Rod Day, former
Interim CFO, became Interim Deputy CFO and completed
a thorough handover before leaving RWS as planned on
31 December 2022.
Jane Hyde became our General Counsel and Company
Secretary and joined the Group Executive Team e昀昀ective
from 3 October 2022.
We are strongly committed to upholding the values of
good corporate governance and accountability to all the
Group’s stakeholders, including shareholders, colleagues,
clients and suppliers. We believe that good governance,
which includes environmental and social issues, is
important for the long-term success of the business.
We believe that success should be pursued without
detriment to others or our environment. We are
committed to generating prosperity for our shareholders
and colleagues, the clients we serve, the suppliers we
engage and the communities in which we operate.
Our values, which are championed by the Group’s
Executive Directors and monitored by the Board, are
aligned with good corporate governance to allow for
the continued international expansion and growth of
the business, while enhancing the interests of all of
the Group’s stakeholders (see Environment, Social &
Governance section on pages 25 to 35). The Board
understands that upholding good corporate governance
is a signi昀椀cant factor in achieving this growth, while at the
same time mitigating risks for the long-term bene昀椀t of
the business.
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RWS Holdings plc — Annual Report 2023 GOVERNANCE REPORT
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
Our commitment to Environment, Social and Governance
("ESG") continues to be central to the way we operate and
we aim to ensure it is woven into our divisional and group
plans, along with environmental issues in the discussions
carried out by our Employee Resource Groups. As a mark
of our maturing approach to Environmental, Social and
Governance, we are in our second year of publishing a
separate ESG report.