Recruiter Hays PLC (LSE:HAS) has confirmed that Mark Dearnley has been given the chief executive officer role on a permanent basis.
Formerly chief digital and technology officer, Dearnley was promoted to interim CEO in February when Dirk Hahn stepped down for personal reasons.
The FTSE 250 group highlighted that he has been a senior executive of digital and business transformation across multiple industries.
He joined the company in August 2025, moving from Inchcape, where he was group chief digital officer, having previously been a partner at Bain & Company, chief digital and information officer at HM Revenue & Customs, and UK chief information officer at Vodafone Group.
Hays chair Michael Findlay said the decision followed a "comprehensive external and internal search", with the board unanimous in feeling he "has the outstanding leadership skills and experience to lead the business forward".
He added: "Mark brings significant experience in driving transformation across large, global organisations. His expertise in this landscape will be hugely valuable to Hays as the industry navigates fundamental changes and macroeconomic uncertainty."
Dearnley said: "Serving as interim CEO over the past few months has only reinforced what I already knew, this is a brilliant business with great people, a huge amount of purpose and massive potential."