RPS Group plc announced that Dr. Alan Hearne will retire from his role as Chief Executive of RPS shortly after the publication of the Group's half year results in August and that he will step down from the Board on 31 August 2017. John Douglas will be joining RPS and its Board on 1 June 2017 and following a period of transition will become Chief Executive on Alan's retirement from the role. Following his retirement Alan will be available to provide consulting advice to the Board until August 2018.

Alan joined RPS in 1978 becoming a director in 1979. John Douglas has had a career in strategic and operational management on an international scale. Most recently, John was Chief Executive of Coffey International Limited.

Prior to joining Coffey in 2011, John spent 15 years with Boral. John was previously a consultant with Boston Consulting Group. In his early career, he worked for engineering companies in Australia and the UK.