Benjamin Faes has begun his role as CEO of RWS Holdings plc, a provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property solutions.
A former managing director at Google, Faes 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.
Founded in 1958, Buckinghamshire-based RWS has 65+ offices in 33 countries, generated £350.3 million revenue in H1 2024 and has more than 8,000 clients.
The company says former CEO Ian El-Mokadem will remain available to support a smooth handover until the end of January 2025, at which point he will leave.
After eight years at AOL, culminating in the role of managing director for France, Faes joined Alphabet in 2008 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 MD of Google Cloud for Southern Europe and emerging markets.
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Faes commented: “I’m proud to join RWS during such a pivotal moment for the business.
“The industry is clearly undergoing significant change, and RWS is successfully adapting by prioritising new growth opportunities and enhancing its impressive technology and AI capabilities. I look forward to collaborating with RWS’s talented teams and to guide the Group through its next stage of development.”
Faes joined Webhelp as UK CEO in 2021, a global customer experience management company and, following the acquisition of Webhelp by Concentrix, he led the transformation and technology team at Concentrix Catalyst in his most recent role.
RWS’s chairman, Julie Southern, added: “Ben’s extensive international experience in creating new revenue streams and executing go-to-market strategies will be invaluable to the group as we continue to enhance and expand our portfolio of AI-driven services and software.
“We are delighted to welcome Ben to the business and look forward to working closely with him to drive the next stage of the company’s growth.”