CFO Succession
Personal Group Holdings Plc announced that Chief Financial Officer Sarah Mace will step down at the May 2026 AGM after over 11 years, having overseen a return to double-digit growth in recent years. Matthew Cohen, currently CFO of Intact Insurance (Europe) SA, will succeed her by the end of H1 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Mace will remain to support the transition and preliminary results in March 2026.
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Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM: PGH), the workforce benefits and insurance provider, announces that Sarah Mace, Chief Financial Officer, has informed the Board of her decision to step down from the Board at the time of the Company's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") in May 2026 after over 11 years at the Company. As part of the Board's ongoing succession planning, the Board is pleased to announce that Matthew Cohen has been appointed Sarah's successor and will assume the role of CFO and join the Board of Directors of the Company by the end of H12026, subject to regulatory approval.
Sarah will remain a Director of the Company and will continue to fulfil her current role until the AGM, supporting the business through its preliminary results in March 2026. Sarah will remain available to the business after her departure, to facilitate a smooth transition.
Sarah joined Personal Group in January 2014 and assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer in October 2020. Under her direction, the Group returned to a growth trajectory following the Covid pandemic and has consistently delivered double digital growth over the past two years. Sarah has played a critical role in positioning Personal Group for further growth and delivering on its ambitions.
Matthew is an experienced financial professional having trained as a chartered accountant with KPMG and subsequently worked in the insurance and financial services sectors. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Intact Insurance (Europe) SA (formerly RSA Luxembourg SA), a regulated non-life insurance company, overseeing six European branches, and previously held positions as Head of Investor Relations and Head of UK Corporate Development and Strategy with RSA Insurance Group.
Martin Bennett, Chairman of Personal Group, said "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Sarah for her considerable contribution to the success of Personal Group over the last 11 years. She has helped steer the business through some challenging periods, while maintaining strict financial discipline, ensuring the financial strength of our organisation. In recent years, working alongside our CEO Paula, Sarah has overseen the divestment of non-core areas of our business, the development of our growth strategy and the delivery of consistently strong financial results. We are sad to see her go, and wish her well in the future.
"We look forward to welcoming Matthew to Personal Group next year. With proven financial and operational leadership skills, Paula and I look forward to working with him to deliver on our 5 year ambitions."
Additional disclosures
As required by Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies, the Company confirms that Matthew Adam Cohen (aged 35) is currently or has been a director of the following companies within the past five years:
| Current Directorships | Previous Directorships |
| 90 Hillfield Road London NW6 Ltd | Intact International Ventures SARL |
596/2014, as amended by regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310, prior to release of this announcement.
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