S4 Capital PLC - Board Changes

14 November 2025

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE UK VERSION OF REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014 ON MARKET ABUSE ("UK MAR"), AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018

S⁴ Capital plc

("S⁴ Capital" or the "Company")

Board Changes

Alina Kessel appointed as an Independent NED and Elizabeth Buchanan retirement from the Board

The Company announces the appointment of Alina Kessel as a Non-Executive Director of S⁴ Capital plc with effect from 14 November 2025.

Alina Kessel has had a 25+ year career in advertising and brand building, having worked in the US, Australia, Germany and the UK. She was Global Client Leader at WPP, CEO of DDB Tribal Group and Grey Advertising in Germany and served as a Non-Executive Director on the board of DS Smith, a FTSE 100 packaging company. Currently, Alina is a NED at Y TREE, a wealthtech advisory platform and a Senior Advisor to HH Global, a marketing activation firm.

Alina will stand for election to the Board at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 6 June 2026. 

The Company also announces that Elizabeth Bucanan has decided to retire from the Board of S⁴ Capital plc in order to focus on her current role at Rokt, with effect from 31 December 2025. Elizabeth has been a Non-Executive Director at S⁴ Capital plc for over 6 years. The Company thanks Elizabeth for her support over the years and the strong contributions she has brought to the Board.

Sir Martin Sorrell, Executive Chairman of S⁴ Capital plc, said: "We are sad to lose Elizabeth to the demands of Rokt, but delighted to add Alina instead. Alina has a very strong marketing and advertising background, which will be very valuable."

Alina Kessel said: "I'm delighted to be joining the Board at such a pivotal moment.  S⁴ Capital is a company with a focused and relevant positioning, energy and ambition.  I look forward to supporting its growth and contributing to meaningful value creation for all our stakeholders".

Elizabeth Buchanan said: "Serving on the Board of S⁴ Capital these past six years has been an incredible privilege.  The opportunity to sit alongside Sir Martin and the Monks leadership team, while witnessing the phenomenal work they are doing to lead the AI revolution in the advertising industry, has been both energizing and humbling".

There are no other details which would be required to be disclosed in accordance with paragraph 6.4.8R of the UK Listing Rules were those to apply to the Company. 

Enquiries:

S⁴ Capital                                                                      Tel: +44 (0)20 3793 0003

Sir Martin Sorrell (Executive Chairman)  

About S⁴ Capital

Our strategy is to build a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, and local clients, and millennial-driven influencer brands. This will be achieved by integrating leading businesses in two synchronised Practices: Marketing Services and Technology services, along with an emphasis on 'faster, better, cheaper, more' execution in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure.

The Company now has approximately 6,500 people in 33 countries with approximately 80% of net revenue across the Americas, 15% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 5% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%. Marketing Services accounted for approximately 90% of net revenue, and Technology Services 10%. The longer term objective is a practice split of 75%:25%.

Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million 'shell' company in 1985 into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over £16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.