REG - Serco Group PLC - Rupert Soames to retire

SercoAnnouncement

12/09/2022 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20220912:nRSL0216Za&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 0216Z  Serco Group PLC  12 September 2022

Rupert Soames to retire; appointment of Mark Irwin as CEO designate

 

12 September 2022

 

Serco announces that Rupert Soames has confirmed to the Board his intention to
retire from the Company in September 2023, at which point he will be 64 and
will have served Serco for over 9 years.  He will step down both from his
role as Chief Executive and from the Board at the end of December 2022, and
will be succeeded by Mark Irwin, who is currently the CEO of Serco's UK &
Europe Division.  Mark has been chosen by the Board after a rigorous
selection process that involved both internal and external candidates.

 

Mark, 57, joined Serco in 2013, and between 2014 and 2020 successfully ran
Serco's Asia-Pacific region, before moving from Australia to lead the UK &
Europe Division.  Prior to Serco, Mark had leadership roles in several
private equity portfolio businesses in the US and China, and also worked for
eight years for GE in the US and Australia.

 

John Rishton, Chair of Serco, said: "I am delighted to be able to announce
Mark Irwin's appointment as CEO designate of what is now a thriving and
resilient business, following the successful turnaround led by Rupert Soames.
 During our selection process it was clear that Mark's deep knowledge of
Serco in the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific, as well as his prior experience
working in the US and the tremendous results he has delivered for us in all
his roles make him the ideal person to lead the Group through its next phase
of growth.  On behalf of the Board, I also want to pay tribute to Rupert.
 Serco is unrecognisable from the business that he joined in 2014.  Under
his leadership, the business was stabilised, a clear strategy developed and
executed, which has resulted in the strong and successful business it is
today.  Rupert should be really proud of what he has achieved."

 

Rupert Soames said: "It has been the privilege of my working life to lead
Serco for the last eight years, but it is now time for me to outsource myself.
 My respect and admiration for the wonderful team of people at Serco, who
work so hard to deliver superb public services and value for money for
taxpayers, is unbounded.  As it is for Serco's customers, who are dedicated
public servants facing the immense challenges of delivering high quality
public services in difficult times."

 

Mark Irwin said: "I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead Serco in
the next stage of its development as one of the world's leading providers of
public services.  With its unique Business-to-Government platform,
international footprint, strong balance sheet and large and growing order
book, Serco is well positioned to deliver superb public services, rewarding
careers for colleagues and growing returns to shareholders."

 

Alongside Mark's promotion, Anthony Kirby will move from his role as Group
Chief Operating Officer to become Chief Executive of Serco's UK & Europe
business.  Anthony joined Serco as Group HR Director in 2017 and was promoted
to Group Chief Operating Officer in 2020, in which role he led the development
of many elements of Serco's Business-to-Government platform and has played a
key role in delivering the Group's strong performance over recent years.

 

 

NOTES

 

Remuneration

Full details of Mark Irwin's remuneration as Group Chief Executive will be set
out in the 2022 Annual Report.  His remuneration will be in line with the
Group's approved Remuneration Policy, and the main elements will be:

 

On taking up the position of Group Chief Executive on 1 January 2023, Mark
Irwin's basic annual salary will be £800,000.  This compares with the
£850,000 basic annual salary of Rupert Soames.  He will receive pension
contributions of 8%, in line with the wider UK workforce.  He will have the
opportunity to earn a maximum of 175% of his basic annual salary in
performance related short-term incentives; incentive awards over 100% of
salary will be deferred into shares for three years.  He will have a maximum
opportunity of 200% of his basic annual salary in performance-related long
term incentive shares.

 

Rupert Soames will receive his contractual entitlement of 12 months' notice,
starting at the date of this announcement.  From 1 January 2023 until the
expiration of his notice period he will remain as a strategic adviser to the
Group and a member of Serco North America's Board.  He will be entitled to
receive a normal annual bonus in respect of 2022, and also be eligible to
receive a pro-rated annual bonus in respect of his period of employment in
2023.  He will not be eligible to receive an award under the Group's long
term incentive programme in respect of 2023.  As a retiree he will be treated
as a "good leaver" for the purposes of Serco's share schemes and in accordance
with the Group's Remuneration Policy.

 

Rupert currently owns over 5m Serco shares outright and significant further
value in both unvested share schemes or shares vested but subject to post-vest
holding periods.  As he approaches retirement from full-time executive life,
and as part of prudent financial planning and portfolio management, he will be
reducing his holdings in Serco shares but will retain interests well in excess
of that required by the Group Remuneration Policy for at least the next three
years.

 

In relation to Listing Rule 9.6.13R(1), Mark Irwin has no current
directorships of publicly quoted companies and no such directorships in the
previous five years other than those referred to above. In relation to Listing
Rule 9.6.13R(2)-(6), there are no details to disclose in relation to Mark
Irwin.

 

 

This announcement contains inside information.

 

Ends

 

For further information please contact:

Paul Checketts, Head of Investor Relations, tel: +44 (0) 7718 195 074 or
email: paul.checketts@serco.com (mailto:paul.checketts@serco.com)

Marcus De Ville, Head of Media Relations; tel: +44 (0) 7738 898 550 or email:
marcus.deville@serco.com (mailto:marcus.deville@serco.com)

 

About Serco

Serco is a leading provider of public services. Our customers are governments
or others operating in the public sector.  We gain scale, expertise and
diversification by operating internationally across five sectors and four
geographies: Defence, Justice & Immigration, Transport, Health and Citizen
Services, delivered in UK & Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the
Middle East.

 

More information can be found at www.serco.com (http://www.serco.com)

 

The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on
behalf of Serco plc is David Eveleigh, Group General Counsel and Company
Secretary.

 

LEI code: 549300PT2CIHYN5GWJ21

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  BOAGPURABUPPGBG