Pearson plc announced that Sidney Taurel has informed the board of his intention to retire as Chair and step down from the Board in due course, no later than the 2022 Annual General Meeting. The company also announced the appointment of Annette Thomas as an independent Non-Executive Director, with effect from October 1, 2021. Annette will join the Reputation & Responsibility Committee and the Nomination & Governance Committee of the Pearson Board. Annette has a 25-year track record in leading global publishing and data analytics businesses, across academic, educational and consumer media verticals. She is currently CEO of Guardian Media Group, a position she has held since March 2020. Prior to this, Annette was CEO of the Web of Science Group at Clarivate Analytics, a data, analytics and software business focused on research and higher education. In addition to the Board changes noted above, following the planned retirement of Vivienne Cox, CBE at Pearson's upcoming Annual General Meeting ("AGM") after serving nine years on the Board, the following changes will be made in respect of key Board roles: Tim Score, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee, will additionally be appointed Senior Independent Director. Sidney Taurel, Chair of the Board, will additionally be appointed as Chair of the Nomination & Governance Committee. Sherry Coutu, CBE, Non-Executive Director, will take on the role of Pearson's Designated Non-Executive Director responsible for workforce engagement. The above changes will take effect from the conclusion of company's AGM on Friday 30 April 2021. As noted above, the process to appoint a new Chair of the Board will be led by Tim Score as the new Senior Independent Director.