10
September 2024
Alpha Group International
plc
("Alpha" or the
"Group")
Directorate Change - CEO
Succession Plan
Alpha Group International plc
("Alpha") announces that Morgan Tillbrook has decided to step down
as Chief Executive and Director of Alpha Group International plc on
31 December 2024. He will be succeeded by Clive Kahn, who has been
the company's Chairman since 2016, and who will be appointed as
Chief Executive from 1 January 2025.
Morgan will continue in his role as
CEO until 31 December 2024, and will then remain available to
provide strategic advice to the company on an ongoing basis. In
order to underline his continued confidence in the Group and its
leadership, Morgan has made a personal commitment to the Board that
he will retain a shareholding of no less than 10% for at least
three years from the date of this announcement. Clive currently has
a ~ 0.83% shareholding in the Group and has committed to
meaningfully increase his equity stake.
Clive's appointment coincides with
the recent successful sale of his company, takepayments, to Global
Payments in April 2024, and the forthcoming expiry of his term as
Chair at Alpha (originally planned for March 2025). He will
continue in his role as Chairman of Alpha until 1 November 2024
when he will be succeeded by the Group's Chair Designate and
current Independent Non-Executive Director, Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia.
Clive will become an Executive Director of Alpha on a full-time
basis as soon as he can clear his commitments at Global Payments,
presently planned for 1 November 2024.
About Clive Kahn
Clive has already had a
distinguished career spanning over 30 years, during which he has
successfully scaled various financial services companies in both FX
and card payments. Joining Alpha Group as Chairman prior to its IPO
in 2016, he has held this role alongside his position as CEO of
takepayments, a payments solution business he acquired with
partners in December 2015.
During Clive's almost nine years at
takepayments, he transformed it from a failing bill payments
business into one of the leading card acceptance businesses in the
UK, growing its merchant estate by a factor of almost ten and card
acceptance revenues by a factor of almost twenty.
Prior to his role as CEO of
takepayments, Clive spent seven years as CEO of Cardsave, another
card acceptance and payments solutions business. During his time
leading this business, he also achieved significant levels of
growth across all important measures. He left in 2014 after
managing its merger into Worldpay UK ltd. Before this, he was Chief
Financial Officer and then Chief Executive Officer of Travelex, the
global foreign exchange business, where during his tenure the
company grew from 100 employees to over 6,000 operating across 35
jurisdictions.
Morgan Tillbrook, CEO of Alpha Group said:
"The journey I have been on with
Alpha over the past fifteen years has been incredible, and I feel
privileged to have been able to work with some amazing people who
together have enabled us to build a truly special and global
business.
My decision to step down as CEO
comes with the confidence that the business is on a strong and
exciting growth trajectory, but also the conviction that there are
people who would be better positioned for this stage in the
Company's journey, and none more so than Clive.
Whilst it has not been an easy
decision, it is the right decision for a company I love and which,
as the largest shareholder, I wish to continue going from strength
to strength. It is also a decision that has been made far easier by
my passing of the torch to Clive, and the exceptional leadership we
already have in place across our diverse and decentralised business
model.
Clive has been a phenomenal Chair
and mentor to me since he joined the Group in 2016, when our annual
revenues were less than our monthly revenues are now. In Clive, the
business has both a proven leader and a world-class operator, but
crucially, someone who understands the Alpha culture, our operating
model and shares its long-term mindset.
With succession planning there are
two options - you find someone from within the business, or you
find someone from outside the business. When hiring someone within
the business, they will often lack the fresh perspective that comes
from leading other companies. But when hiring someone outside the
business, they naturally lack the immediate in-depth understanding
of the operating model and culture. It is therefore very "Alpha" of
us to have landed a hybrid option that we believe combines the best
of both worlds - an experienced Chairman who understands our
business intimately, but also has vast experience of leading
multiple successful businesses of their own. Clive has often said
to me that he is a better CEO than Chairman, and whilst I think his
track record shows he has been fantastic at juggling both, I am
naturally excited by what this will mean for Alpha.
With all this considered, the
coincidence of Clive stepping down as Chair later this year and the
recent sale of his business, it feels like the stars have aligned,
and I feel incredibly privileged that he has expressed so much
excitement in taking on the CEO role.
People may wonder why I am not
seeking to retain a seat on the board; fundamentally it is due to
the confidence I have in Clive and the freedom he deserves to lead
Alpha. The Board has made many important decisions during my time
at Alpha, and I have complete conviction in this one. Alpha has
benefitted from a loyal and high-quality shareholder base, and I
ask all of our stakeholders to now transfer the confidence they
placed in me to Clive and the wider business. As the largest
shareholder, I shall lead from the front in this regard and commit
to retain a shareholding of no less than 10%, for at least three
years from the date of this announcement.
I would like to thank all of my
colleagues, investors, clients and banking partners for the trust
and support they have placed in me and the business over the last
fifteen years. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as
CEO of this company and words will never truly convey the gratitude
I feel."
Clive Kahn, Chair of Alpha Group said:
"Alpha Group is an exceptional
company with an incredibly exciting future ahead of it. I have
thoroughly enjoyed serving as its Chair over the last eight years.
It will be a privilege to now lead the business as its CEO, and I
would like to thank Morgan and the Board for the trust and
confidence they have placed in me. I am confident that with the
team and foundations we have in place, we will continue to take the
business from strength to strength."
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chair Designate of Alpha Group
said:
"Clive's track record of leading and
successfully scaling fast-growing FX and payments companies,
combined with his eight-year history with Alpha, made Clive an
obvious successor for this role. To have someone with such a deep
understanding of the business and its culture, but also a separate
and successful track record of their own, is very rare. In Clive,
the Board feel confident we have someone who can harness the
potential we have today, whilst bringing an exciting new
perspective that can take Alpha to new heights.
On behalf of the Board, I would also
like to thank Morgan for his incredible leadership over the past
fifteen years and am pleased that he will remain both on hand to
support the business, and a significant shareholder."
Timelines
Subject to regulatory approval,
Morgan will be succeeded by Clive on 1 January 2025. Clive will
step down from being the Chair of the Board to become an executive
director from 1 November 2024, at which point Jayne-Anne will
assume the Chair. Morgan will support a smooth orderly transition
of responsibilities to Clive for the rest of the year and step down
from CEO and Board on the 31 December 2024.
Remuneration arrangements
Morgan Tillbrook
Morgan will be treated in accordance
with Alpha Group International's remuneration policy and his
service contract for the remainder of his employment. He will be
treated as a good leaver for the purpose of incentives. Full detail
will be disclosed in compliance with Section 430(2B) of the
Companies Act 2006 in the Director's Remuneration Report within the
Company's Annual Report for the year ended 31 December
2024.
Clive Kahn
Clive's remuneration arrangements
will be confirmed following a review by the remuneration committee,
ahead of the publication of the 2024 annual report and the
remuneration policy contained within it.
Corporate Governance
As part of these changes, we
recognise the need for Alpha to appoint an additional independent
non-executive director in order to be fully compliant with the
corporate governance code. Searches are currently underway. In the
meantime, we are confident the Board retains sufficient
independence and authority.
Market Abuse Regulation
This announcement is released by
Alpha Group International plc and contains inside information for
the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 ("MAR")
and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under
Article 17 of MAR. The person who arranged for the release of this
announcement on behalf of Alpha Group International plc was Tim
Powell, Chief Financial Officer.
