Schwan (pictured) has been with St Ives for three years. Most recently he has been its chief digital officer and before that he was CEO of Solstice, the group’s largest strategic marketing business.  

Schwan began his career in Accenture’s emerging technologies lab and, after leaving Accenture, went on to found Solstice, a 400+ person, digital innovation firm with offices in Chicago, New York and Buenos Aires.  

He will take over the CEO role with effect from 4 August 2018, with Armitage continuing in the position until then. Armitage will remain with the group as a special adviser for a year after that to help with the transition.

Armitage joined St Ives as chief financial officer in September 2007 before being appointed CEO in August 2014.

Richard Stillwell, chairman, said: "Matt has been the architect of the transformation of St Ives.  He has successfully steered the group through a period of unparalleled change.  Thanks to him, it is now poised for a period of growth in sectors that are characterised by innovation, technology and customer experience.

"The board is delighted to appoint J as Matt’s successor.  He has unparalleled experience in delivering digitally-based transformation services in a high growth environment."

Among the businesses owned by St Ives are consumer and market research consultancy, Incite, and retail consultancies Pragma and FSP.