1 December 2021

Keywords Studios plc

("Keywords Studios", "Keywords")

Update on CEO Appointment

Further to the announcement on 20 September 2021 regarding the appointment of a CEO, Keywords Studios confirms that Bertrand Bodson has today, 1 December 2021, joined Keywords as CEO and assumed his Board position.

Bertrand joins from global healthcare leader Novartis where, in his role as Chief Digital Officer since 2018, and as an Executive Committee member, he led the digital transformation of the business, leading large scale teams, securing a number of strategic partnerships and playing a key role in the development of its corporate culture for 100,000 colleagues.

Remuneration

The main elements of Bertrand Bodson's remuneration package will be as follows, with further disclosure to be included in Keywords' Director's Remuneration Report in the 2021 Annual Report:

•     Base salary:  £600,000 p.a.

•     Maximum annual bonus: 30% of base salary

•     Pension: 5% of base salary

•     LTIP award: On joining, £1,650,000 vesting in May 2024, with entitlement to annual LTIP award. The following conditions have been applied to this LTIP award:

o  Total shareholder return performance measured against the FTSE 250 (excluding investment trusts) with 25% vesting at matching performance and full vesting at 20% outperformance

o  Shareholding requirement of 250% base salary

o  Share retention for one-year post-employment

o  Provision for malus and clawback

o  Full vesting in the event of takeover

•     LTIP conditional awards (RSUs): On joining, £600,000 vesting after 3 years continuous employment, granted on a like-for-like basis for compensation forgone

•     Notice period: 6 months

Directorships

As stated in the announcement on 20 September 2021, other than the previous directorships listed below, there is no further information required to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies, in relation Bertrand Bodson's appointment to the Board.

Bertrand holds or has held directorships in the five years preceding his appointment at the Company as follows:

Current appointments

Tesco plc
Wolters Kluwer N.V.
Imalc SA
St Nicolas des Pres SA

Appointments held in past five years

Electrocomponents plc

ENDS 

For further information, please contact:

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 70 facilities in 23 countries strategically located in Asia, Australia, the Americas and Europe, it provides integrated art creation, marketing services, game development, testing, localization, audio and player support services across more than 50 languages and 16 games platforms to a blue-chip client base of over 950 clients across the globe.

Keywords Studios has a strong market position, providing services to 23 of the top 25 most prominent games companies. Across the games and entertainment industry, clients include Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Konami, Microsoft, Netflix, Riot Games, Square Enix, Supercell, TakeTwo, Tencent and Ubisoft. Recent titles worked on include Anthem, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Valorant, League of Legends, Fortnite, Clash Royale and Doom Eternal. Keywords Studios is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (KWS.L).