Hays : News of the passing of Hays plc Chairman, Alan Thomson

Hays plc shares the news of the passing of its Chairman, Alan Thomson, following a rapid deterioration of a medical condition.

Alan became Chairman of Hays plc in November 2010 having joined the Board in July 2010 and was instrumental in building a strong and experienced plc board.

Alistair Cox, Hays Chief Executive, commented; 'Alan has provided the Board and me with immense support and leadership in his eight years with the Company, and it is with tremendous sadness that we learn of his untimely passing. His guidance, wisdom and humour will be greatly missed by all who were fortunate to have known him and our condolences go out to his family at this sad time.'

A post-graduate of Glasgow University and a Chartered Accountant, Alan's early career was with Arthur Andersen and Price Waterhouse. This was followed by senior management roles with Rockwell International plc, Raychem Ltd and Courtaulds plc, after which he became Finance Director of Rugby Group plc and then Smiths Group plc. Alan is a former Non-Executive Director of Johnson Matthey plc and Alstom SA, former Chairman of Polypipe Group plc and Bodycote plc and a past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Alan was also appointed Chairman of Oxford Instruments in September 2016.

Andrew Martin, Senior Independent Director, will act as Non-executive Chairman on an interim basis pending a permanent appointment.

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Contact

Freida Moore
Group Head of Corporate Communications
[e-mail]
020 7383 2266

Jonathan Beasley
Group Senior Communications Executive
[e-mail]
020 7383 2266

About Hays

Hays plc (the 'Group') is a leading global professional recruiting group and is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2017 the Group employed 10,800 staff operating from 256 offices in 33 markets across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2017:

- the Group reported net fees of £954.6 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £211.5 million;

- the Group placed around 70,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 240,000 people into temporary assignments;

- 24% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 49% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 27% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;

- the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;

- Hays operates in the following markets: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mainland China, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA