Dr Bruce Smith, President of Smith Institute for Industrial Mathematics and System Engineering has made the following announcement:

With effect from 1st May 2018, I will be retiring as Chairman of the Smith Institute for Industrial Mathematics and System Engineering. I will remain as President of the company and continue to take a keen interest in the way that the Smith Institute helps its customers to tackle complex challenges through the application of mathematical techniques. However, I feel that after many years since founding the company, now is the right time for me to take a step back and allow the company to develop under a new Chairman.

The Board of Directors has unanimously approved the appointment of Graeme Hobbs as the Smith Institute’s new Chairman, with effect from 1st May 2018. Graeme has served as a Non-Executive Director since February 2016, having been familiar with the company prior to that during his time as Chairman of Motorola Solutions Ltd. Graeme’s engagement with the company has been particularly active over the last two years and he is already familiar to a number of customers. Graeme will continue to support the Smith Institute’s CEO, Dr Heather Tewkesbury, and the wider Smith Institute team, in delivering high value solutions through mathematics.

It is an honour to assume the Chair of the Smith Institute from Bruce and I look forward to working with Heather and the rest of the Board of Directors to continue the growth that the Smith Institute has enjoyed through solving complex problems for our customers.

Graeme Hobbs
Chair of Smith Institute Board of Directors

About Dr Bruce Smith

Dr Bruce Smith is President of the Smith Institute.

Until 1997 he was the Chairman and majority shareholder of Smith System Engineering Limited. Before founding that company in 1971, he worked in design engineering for Decca Radar Limited after a period in the United States with Bellcomm Inc in the US Space programme.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Institute of Physics. Bruce is a director of a number of private companies, and a Domus Fellow of St Catherine’s College, Oxford.

About Graeme Hobbs

Graeme Hobbs was appointed to the Smith Institute Council in February 2016. Until July 2015, Graeme was the Chairman of Motorola Solutions UK Ltd, the Country Manager for Motorola Solutions UK, and the Government Affairs lead and regional director for Europe and Africa.

He is a Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Graeme is also the non-executive Chairman of Bristol is Open Ltd, a joint venture between University of Bristol and Bristol City Council focused on smart city applications.
Graeme has a number of pro bono roles including Chair of the Audit Committee and Lay member of Council for Southampton University, a Trustee of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and Chair of the Blue Lamp Trust.