CEO Succession

Personal Group Holdings PLC

04 May 2023

 

Personal Group Holdings plc

(the "Company", the "Group" or "Personal Group")

CEO Succession

Personal Group plc, the workforce benefits and services provider, announces that following eight years on the Board, Deborah Frost, Group Chief Executive, has notified the Board of her intention to retire at the end of the year and will step down as Group Chief Executive and from the Board, with effect from 31 December 2023, to pursue a portfolio career.

Following a rigorous recruitment process, the Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Paula Constant as Group Chief Executive and Executive Director, subject to regulatory approval. Paula is expected to join Personal Group with effect from 1 September 2023 and an orderly transition will follow. 

Deborah joined the Personal Group Board in 2015 as a Non-Executive Director.  She became Group Chief Executive in February 2019, following the Group's acquisition of Innecto People Consulting Limited, and has overseen an outstanding period of change and transformation within the Group. 

Paula is a highly experienced CEO, with over 20 years of telecoms, banking and outsourcing experience, including executive roles at National Australia Bank, Mitie, BT, Vodafone and Accenture. She has a strong track record of delivering growth through enhancing distribution and improving customer service in B2C and B2B organisations. During her time with BT, she delivered substantial improvements in B2B engineering revenues, in addition to working with the regulator and over 500 customers to significantly reduce delivery lead times and complaints. Paula is currently CEO of Woven Solutions Group Limited ("Woven Group"), which she joined in October 2020.

Martin Bennett, Chairman of Personal Group, said "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Deborah for her enormous contribution to Personal Group over the past four years as Group Chief Executive, and previously as Non-Executive Director. She has transformed the Group into a leading benefits provider with a broad and highly relevant technology-led product offering. Her leadership during the Covid period was exceptional. Deborah leaves Personal Group extremely well positioned for future growth and we thank her again for everything she has helped us to achieve.

"We are delighted to appoint a leader of Paula's calibre to the role.  Paula has deep consumer industry experience as well as proven strategic capabilities, strong operational performance background and a clear ability to build and lead teams.

"With a strong leadership team, platform and products, we remain focussed on growth and I look forward to working with Paula to capitalise on the many opportunities that lie ahead in the changing UK workforce."

Deborah Frost, Group Chief Executive, said, "After over eight years with the business, the time has come for me to pursue a portfolio career.  I am immensely proud of how our business has developed and transformed following the challenges of the pandemic and am privileged to have worked alongside such an amazing team. Having delivered a year of strong underlying growth in 2022 and with building momentum in 2023, I am confident in the prospects for the business, and that it is in good hands with Paula."

Paula Constant, incoming Group Chief Executive, said: "I am delighted to be joining Personal Group. Deborah leaves the Group in a very strong position. I believe the Company can have a significant impact on the UK workforce, more so now than ever before, and I look forward to working with the team to capture the opportunities for future growth." 

Regulatory Disclosures:

In accordance with Rule 17 and Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies, Paula Jane Brown (nee Constant), aged 44, has held the following directorships in the past five years:

Current Directorships

Ansaback Limited

BYC Aqua Solutions Proprietary Limited

BYC Aqua Solutions UK Ltd ***

Byron Yeats Consulting Proprietary Limited

Direct Response Limited *

GoResponse Limited*

Hamsard 3516 Limited

Hamsard 3517 Limited

IPPlus (UK) Ltd *

Office Response Limited

Ostinati Limited

Paula Constant Services Ltd

Perdial Limited

The Yonder Digital Group Limited

Tpoint Solutions Limited *

Woven Employment Management Services Ltd**

Woven Solutions Group Ltd*

Woven Solutions Ltd*

Woven SAC Pty Ltd

SA Commercial Pty Ltd

Past Directorships

AQ Amorgos Holdings Limited

HSM Ltd

The Mitie Foundation

Paula Constant does not hold any ordinary shares in the Company.

* Placed into administration on 28 March 2023 as part of the sale of the Woven Group

** Placed into administration on 29 March 2023 as part of the sale of the Woven Group

*** Placed into administration on 13 April 2023 as part of the sale of Woven Group

This announcement contains inside information.

To hear more from Deborah and Paula please click here: https://www.fmp-tv.co.uk/2023/05/04/personal-group-ceo/

For more information please contact:

Personal Group Holdings Plc
Deborah Frost (CEO) / Sarah Mace (CFO)		Via Alma PR
Cenkos Securities Plc
Camilla Hume / Callum Davidson (Nomad)		[phone]
Russell Kerr (Sales)
Alma PR		[phone]
Caroline Forde / Joe Pederzolli / Kinvara Verdon		[e-mail]

Notes to Editors

Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM: PGH) is a workforce benefits and services provider. The Group enables employers across the UK to improve employee engagement and support their people's physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing. Its vision is to create a brighter future for the UK workforce.

Personal Group provides health insurance services and a broad range of employee benefits, engagement, and wellbeing products. Its offerings can also be delivered through its proprietary app, Hapi, and the recently developed extension to the platform, Hapiflex.

The Group's growth strategy is centred around widening the footprint of the business into the SME, talent-led & Public Sectors, thereby expanding the addressable customer base. In addition, it aims to grow in its existing industrial heartlands, to re-invigorate growth in insurance policyholders and to drive the use of its SaaS offerings.

Group Clients include: Airbus, Barchester Healthcare, British Transport Police, Merseyrail, Randstad, Royal Mail Group, The Royal Mint, the Sandwell & Birmingham NHS Trust, Stagecoach Group plc, and The University of York.

For further information on the Group please see www.personalgroup.com

 

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