Mumbai, 28 February 2014 : Serco Group plc (Serco), the international service company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rupert Soames OBE as Group Chief Executive with effect from 1 June 2014, at which point he will join the Serco Group plc Board. Ed Casey will continue to lead the company as Chief Executive in the interim.
Rupert is currently the Group Chief Executive of Aggreko plc, the FTSE100 support services company and world’s largest temporary power generation and temperature control services business. He has led Aggreko since 2003, serving customers, including many central and local government clients, in 100 countries around the world. The services that Aggreko provides are often mission-critical, large and complex, such as supporting an entire country’s national grid or successfully providing power to the 2012 London Olympics. Rupert Soames is also currently the Senior Independent Director of Electrocomponents plc, the FTSE250 support services company.
Alastair Lyons, non-executive Chairman of Serco Group plc, said: “Rupert Soames is a highly experienced FTSE100 Chief Executive with a significant track record of success, leading a substantial and complex international support services business. He and his team have driven growth in Aggreko by developing customer-focused strategies and consistently delivering against them. Rupert is a passionate believer in public services, highly respected by customers, governments, employees and investors, and I am absolutely delighted that he has chosen to join Serco and lead the company’s future development.
“Serco has a unique combination of capabilities with international reach. No other company has the breadth across both frontline and middle and back office services. No other company can apply the experience and track-record that we have across the UK, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, or Australia to support the winning of new contracts in another geography. Serco has strong foundations and the Board is confident in the Group’s ability to realise its full potential under Rupert’s leadership. I would also like to express my huge appreciation to Ed Casey for his commitment to Serco during this difficult period, and for providing great leadership to get the company back on track.”
Rupert Soames said: “It is has been an extremely difficult decision for me to leave Aggreko after eleven enjoyable and successful years. I am hugely excited to be joining Serco as I have always admired the services it delivers and the passion and commitment of its people. I am aware that the Company has experienced significant recent difficulties but the work that Serco does is important to the lives of millions of people and I believe that we can find a way through to a bright future. I am greatly looking forward to working with my new colleagues to deliver the quality of services that will impress our customers, shock our competitors and please our investors.”
About Serco
Serco is an international service company, which combines commercial know-how with a deep public service ethos.
Around the world, we improve essential services by managing people, processes, technology and assets more effectively. We advise policy makers, design innovative solutions, integrate systems and – most of all – deliver to the public.