Keywords Studios appoints Bertrand Bodson as CEO

Keywords Studios has appointed Novartis executive Bertrand Bodson as its new chief executive officer, succeeding Andrew Day.

Bodson’s appointment will be effective from 1 December.

Keywords said on Monday that Bodson brings "deep experience in driving and executing growth strategies for international businesses gained throughout his 23 year career through establishing new business models and innovative platforms, developing strategic partnerships, international expansion and digital transformation".

He joins from global healthcare provider Novartis, where he has been chief digital officer since 2018. Prior to that, Bodson spent four years as chief digital and chief marketing officer at Sainsbury's Argos, where he led the transformation from a traditional catalogue business to the third largest online retailer in the UK.

He has also held senior roles at EMI Group, Bragster.com - which he co-founded - and Amazon, and he is currently a non-executive director of Tesco and Wolters Kluwer.

Chairman Ross Graham said: "We are delighted to have attracted a candidate of Bertrand's calibre to lead Keywords through the next phase of its development in the video games and adjacent content industries.

"Bertrand brings an ideal skillset to leading our ambitious, international business given the breadth of his experience in shaping and executing growth strategies and engendering strong cultures at some of the world's leading businesses. This expertise will be invaluable as we continue to grow across multiple territories to cement our position as the 'go-to' provider of scale within our industry, globally."