Company Announcements

29 September 2020

Ascential plc ("the Company")

COO appointment

Ascential plc (LSE: ASCL.L), the specialist information, data and analytics company, today announces the appointment of Paul Harrison as an Executive Director of the Board of Ascential plc to serve in the role of Chief Operating Officer, effective 11 January 2021.  Paul will continue in his role as Non-Executive Director of the Company until that date.  

As Ascential continues to evolve its agile and digitally-focused business model to drive long-term growth, the appointment of a Chief Operating Officer will add further depth and breadth to the senior management team.  In his new role, Paul will take responsibility for the Company's people strategies, mergers & acquisitions and other Group functions including marketing, content and technology, reporting directly to Duncan Painter, Ascential's Chief Executive Officer.

Paul has significant experience driving growth in innovative digital businesses, in senior financial and  non-executive director roles over the past twenty years.  Most recently, Paul was CFO of Just Eat plc (online food delivery) from 2016 to 2020. Prior to that, he was CFO of WANDisco plc (data solutions for enterprises) and The Sage Group plc (technology for SMEs).  Paul was also Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of Hays plc (recruitment) for the last five years of his tenure from 2007 to 2017 and joined the Board of Ascential in 2016 as Non-Executive Director and chair of the audit committee.  In his early career, Paul qualified as a chartered accountant working for Baker Tilly and then PwC.

Scott Forbes, Chairman of Ascential, commented:

"Paul has offered tremendous support and guidance to the Ascential Board in a non-executive capacity since our IPO in 2016 and is a proven business leader.  As a Board, we look forward to working with Paul in his new role as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, and have no doubt that he will help deliver our long-term growth plans in coming years."

Paul Harrison commented:

"I am excited to be joining the highly talented executive team at Ascential. My four years on the Board have seen the business transform at extraordinary pace to become an essential partner to leading, global consumer product groups as they seek to optimise their e-commerce strategies and performance. I greatly look forward to joining the team as an executive and to helping the business to fulfil its enormous potential."

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