Our leadership

Andy joined Smiths as Chief Executive in September 2015. Andy spent over a decade at GKN plc, a complex global engineering group, before joining Smiths. Prior to leaving GKN he was Chief Executive of the Automotive division and a member of the GKN Board. Earlier in his career Andy held senior management roles at Ingersoll Rand, Siebe plc (now Schneider Electric) and Delphi Automotive Systems. His previous external appointments as Chairman of the CBI Manufacturing Council, as a member of the Government Ministerial Advisory Group for Manufacturing and as a non-executive Director of Morgan Advanced Materials plc, enhance the in-depth knowledge of the industry that Andy brings to the Board.

Role Profile - Chief Executive

John Shipsey was appointed to the Board and as Chief Financial Officer on 1 January 2018. He will stand for election by shareholders at the 2018 Annual General Meeting. Prior to joining Smiths John was Chief Financial Officer for Dyson, a diversified global technology company. He was part of the team leading Dyson’s global growth, particularly in Asia. Before joining Dyson John spent 13 years at Diageo plc in a number of senior finance and strategy roles, including Finance Director for its Iberia region and Chief Financial Officer of Schieffelin & Somerset, a US joint venture between Diageo and LVMH. John is a Chartered Accountant and has valuable experience leading innovative companies with a global presence.

Karen joined Smiths in April 2017 with the acquisition of Morpho Detection and became President of Smiths Interconnect in August 2017. Karen was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Morpho Detection. Prior to this, Karen served as CEO of Labinal, COO of Zoltek, and CEO of Messier-Bugatti USA. She began her career at Northrop Corporation and subsequently at Hitco Carbon Composites.

Roland joined Smiths in 1991 and was appointed to President of Smiths Detection in March 2018, taking on the role in addition to his existing responsibilities as President of Asia Pacific, which he was appointed to in 2017. He has held numerous roles within the business including Managing Director for Smiths Connectors before becoming President of Smiths Interconnect in 2014.

Jean Vernet joined Smiths in June 2017 as President of John Crane. Prior to this, Jean was CFO of Expro, Grid Net and Formfactor. In 2007 he was the director of risk at Rio Tinto Alcan. Jean also worked at Schlumberger covering financial management, risk management, treasury and corporate finance.

Julian joined Smiths in July 2013 and was appointed to Group Strategy and M&A Director in October 2017. He was previously Group Financial Controller. Prior to this, he spent two years at Royal Caribbean Cruises as Finance Director for UK Ireland and prior to that, he worked for 12 years at Procter & Gamble, based predominantly in Geneva, Switzerland.

Sheena joined Smiths as Group HR Director in January 2016. She started her career at GEC plc and has since worked in both consumer and industrial companies where HR in a business transformation environment has been a continuous theme.

Philippe joined Smiths in October 2016 as Group Operations Director. He was previously the Group Purchasing, Supply Chain and IT Director at GKN plc, Global Operations Director at GKN Driveline, and has held senior positions in the automotive industry at Faurecia, Valéo and PSA, and at Deloitte Consulting.

Mel joined Smiths in 2013 and was appointed as Group General Counsel on 1st April 2018 . She was previously Smiths’ Company Secretary and Deputy Group General Counsel. Prior to joining Smiths she was General Counsel of British Gas, Legal & HR Director of Edwards Group and prior to that held several senior roles in BG Group plc and Linde AG.