Richard Smith
Chief Manufacturing Officer
Role
An executive board member, Richard is responsible for materials management and manufacturing.
Education
BEng (Hons) In Mechanical Engineering, University of Surrey. Chartered Engineer. MBA, University of Wales.
Experience
Having started his career in the maintenance function at British Steel, Richard’s ‑ first exposure to automotive management was as Group Operations Director for Sogefi Filtration, a multi-national Tier 1 supplying ‑ filtration solutions to the global automotive market. Thereafter followed MD roles at Norma Group, where Richard was responsible ‑ first for the UK OEM and distribution business and subsequently for the metal parts manufacturing activity within Europe. As Group MD at Ricor, Richard was responsible for five manufacturing plants across the UK and Europe. Richard has extensive experience in factory management and high-volume manufacturing, with a career total of over 30 manufacturing plants under direct and indirect management.
Outside work
Richard is an active DIYer, spending his spare time working on improvements to his grade ii listed cottage. A rugby fan, he is a long-suffering supporter of the Welsh regions. He has a golden retriever, who is equally happy walking the fields or lying under the table in the local pub.