Julie Southern

ulie joined RWS as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman Designate in July 2022, and will succeed Andrew Brode as Non-Executive Chairman in October 2023.

She brings a wealth of business and governance experience from her current Non-Executive Director roles. Julie is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit committees at Rentokil Initial, Ocado, NXP Semiconductor and easyJet, where she is also Senior Independent Director.

She has also previously held Non-Executive Director positions at DFS Furniture Company and Cineworld Cinemas, where she chaired the respective Audit Committees, at Stagecoach where she chaired the Remuneration Committee and at Gategroup where she chaired the Nomination and Compensation Committee. Julie’s executive career included a number of senior finance, operations and marketing roles, where she has driven significant growth and revenues, including at Porsche Cars, as Group Finance Director from 1996, before she joined Virgin Atlantic in 2000 as Chief Financial Officer with a broad management role, later becoming its Chief Commercial Officer in 2010. She was also Finance and Operations Director at WH Smith – HJ Chapman & Co. Ltd.

Julie holds a BA (Hons.) in Economics from the University of Cambridge and is a qualified chartered accountant.