Directorate Change

WS Atkins plc ("Atkins" or the "Group"), the design and engineering and project management consultancy group, is pleased to announce the appointment of two non-executive directors.

Allister Langlands joined the Board with effect from 4 September 2013. Mr Langlands has been chairman of John Wood Group PLC, an international energy services company based in Aberdeen, since November 2012. He has worked for Wood Group since 1991, formerly serving as CEO, deputy CEO and Group finance director. He is also a non-executive director of the venture capital trust Maven Income and Growth VCT 5 PLC.

Prior to joining Wood Group, he was a partner with international accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte (now PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP).

Thomas Leppert will join the Board on 1 October 2013. Mr Leppert is the president and chief operating officer at Kaplan, Inc., the global educational services company.

His professional work has spanned leadership positions both in the public and private sectors including construction, financial services and real estate. He was the elected Mayor of Dallas, Texas. Prior to this Mr Leppert was the Chairman and CEO of the Turner Corporation, the largest general builder in the United States, Vice Chairman of Pacific Century Financial Corporation and its major subsidiary the Bank of Hawaii, President & CEO Castle & Cooke Properties, Inc., and national partner of Trammell Crow Company. Mr Leppert began his career at McKinsey & Co. where he was elected a Principal. He holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Atkins also announces that Joanne Curin, will step down from the Board with effect from 31 January 2014. This follows her appointment to become chief financial officer of Lamprell plc based in the Middle East, in addition to her existing role at DeepOcean Group Holding BV.

Allan Cook, Atkins' chairman said: "I am delighted to welcome Allister and Tom to the Board. Their extensive knowledge and track record, in a range of industries, will be a great addition to the Board in areas that are key to Atkins' future growth. In addition I would like to thank Jo for her superb contribution to the Board since 2009 and to wish her success in her new role."

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Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world's leading design, engineering and project management consultancies*, employing some 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. Over 75 years, from post-war regeneration and the advent of nuclear engineering to high speed rail and the integrated sustainable cities of the future, our people's breadth and depth of expertise and drive to ask why has allowed us to plan, design and enable some of the world's most complex projects.

*14th largest global design firm (Engineering News-Record 2013) and the third largest multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe (Svensk Teknik och Design 2012).