17 June 2019

Keywords Studios plc ("Keywords", "the Group")

   Directorate Change

Chief Financial Officer Appointment

Keywords Studios, the international technical and creative services provider to the global video games industry announces that its Chief Financial Officer, David Broderick, will be standing down from his role, and leaving the Group, for personal reasons.

Following an extensive search, Keywords is pleased to announce that Jon Hauck, currently Group Financial Controller and Treasurer at FTSE 100 business services group, Rentokil Initial Plc, will be joining Keywords by 1 November 2019, at the latest, as its new Chief Financial Officer.

David has agreed to remain in his current role and as a member of the Board of Directors to ensure an orderly transition and we will provide a further update on effective dates in due course.

Jon, 46, has a wealth of finance, change management and M&A experience, having held the role of Group Financial Controller and Treasurer at Rentokil Initial plc since 2015. He joined Rentokil Initial in 2008 and prior to taking up his current position, held several roles including Programme Director in North America where he was responsible for leading a substantial integration programme. He subsequently became Chief Financial Officer of the North America operations. Prior to Rentokil Initial, he worked in PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Assurance practice. Jon is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.  

Andrew Day, Chief Executive of Keywords, commented:

"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank David for his valuable contribution to Keywords over the last three years. During his tenure, the Group has delivered 160% growth in revenues, invested over €170m in 25 acquisitions, grown from 23 to 52 facilities across four continents and seen headcount triple to in excess of 6,000 people globally.

"We are looking forward to Jon joining the Group and taking his seat on the Board of Directors. His experience at Rentokil Initial with its operations across 73 countries world-wide and its highly active M&A program will be extremely valuable to us as we continue to grow Keywords Studios both organically and by acquisition."

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About Keywords Studios (www.keywordsstudios.com) 

Keywords Studios is an international technical services provider to the global video games industry. Established in 1998, and now with over 50 facilities in 21 countries strategically located in Asia, the Americas and Europe, it provides integrated art creation, software engineering, testing, localisation, audio and customer care services across more than 50 languages and 16 games platforms to a blue-chip client base of approximately 850 clients across the globe. 

It has a strong market position, providing services to 23 of the top 25 most prominent games companies, including Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Konami, Riot Games, Sony, Square Enix, Supercell, TakeTwo, Epic Games and Ubisoft. Recent titles worked on include Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Call of Duty: WWII, Mortal Combat X, Assassin's Creed Origins, Battlefield 1, League of Legends, Fortnite, Clash Royale and Rainbow Six Siege. Keywords Studios is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (KWS.L).