Chief Financial Officer Succession

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc.

03 July 2023

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc.

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

Chief Financial Officer Succession

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc., the government relations and public affairs group providing clients with a fully integrated and comprehensive range of services, is pleased to announce that, as part of its executive officer succession planning, Roel Smits has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect.

Founding CFO Bill Chess remains on the Board as Executive Director and will assume the new position of Chief Administrative Officer, reporting directly to the CEO, where he will drive internal efficiency and collaboration.

Roel joined PPHC in May 2022 as Deputy CFO. He has previously acted as CFO at Kantar, the data analytics and brand consulting company owned by WPP and Bain Capital, most recently for Americas and prior also for Asia-Pacific and Africa. Prior to that, he performed senior roles at WPP (Senior VP of Corporate Development) and Dutch private equity family office HAL Investments BV. Roel has a Masters in Finance from London Business School, as well as a Masters in Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and an MBA in Marketing from Michigan State University.  

It is the intention that Roel will join the Board in due course subject to completion of customary due diligence and regulatory procedures.

Simon Lee, Chairman, PPHC commented:

"The appointment of Roel to the position of CFO and of Bill to the new position of Chief Administrative Officer is the result of careful succession planning and adds additional strength to the executive team. Since our IPO in December 2021, we have created a business delivering revenues of over $100m with strong EBITDA margins between 25% and 30% and we are looking forward to building on this progress in the coming years. 

Roel Smits, CFO, PPHC commented:

"I am delighted to take on the role of PPHC's CFO as we continue to deliver our clearly stated strategy and benefit from the ever-increasing importance that corporates globally are placing on government relations and public affairs. In addition to continued organic growth, PPHC is actively in discussions with a number of potential acquisition targets, both in the US and internationally - I am excited by the potential for significant growth that lies head for the Group. With deepest respect I thank my predecessor Bill Chess for all he has done for PPHC since its inception in 2014."

Bill Chess, Chief Administrative Officer commented:

"Being part of the team that has propelled PPHC into becoming the largest provider of federal lobbying services in the US continues to be an incredible journey.  I'm looking forward to working in my new role to drive internal efficiency and collaboration as we deliver on our organic and acquisitive growth plan."

Enquiries

Public Policy Holding Company Inc. Stewart Hall, CEO Thomas Gensemer, Chief Strategy Officer	[phone]
Stifel (Nominated Adviser & Broker) Fred Walsh, Tom Marsh	[phone]
Buchanan Communications (Media Enquiries) Chris Lane, Toto Berger	[phone] [e-mail]

About PPHC

Incorporated in 2014, PPHC is a US-based government relations and public affairs group providing clients with a fully integrated and comprehensive range of services including government and public relations, research and digital advocacy campaigns. Retained by over two-thirds of its 1000+ clients, including corporates, trade associations and non-governmental organisations, the Group is active in all major sectors of the U.S. economy, including healthcare and pharmaceuticals, financial services, energy, technology, telecoms and transportation. PPHC's services support clients to enhance and defend their reputations, advance policy goals, manage regulatory risk, and engage with US federal and state-level policy makers, stakeholders, media and the public.

PPHC operates a holding company structure and currently has seven operating entities comprising Crossroads Strategies, Forbes Tate Partners, Seven Letter, O'Neill & Associates, Alpine Group Partners, KP Public Affairs and MultiState Associates. Operating in the strategic communications market, the Group has a strong track record of organic and acquisitive growth, the latter focused on enhancing its capabilities and to establish new verticals, either within new geographies or new related offerings.

For more information, see www.pphcompany.com.

 

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