Simon Smith has built a career across HR leadership, consultancy and advisory roles, specialising in industrial and manufacturing organisations. He discusses the need for organisations to put greater effort into identifying future leadership talent and stretching leaders beyond their comfort zones.
You’ve held senior HR leadership roles across the automotive and manufacturing sectors, as well as launching your own consultancy and holding several NED/advisory positions. Can you walk me through your career journey? Did you have a specific ambition at the beginning of your career?
I don’t think I had a clear vision at the start. I did a politics degree, and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but when I looked at what companies were offering, HR sounded the most interesting. Most of my graduate applications were focused on HR and I was lucky enough to join Peugeot’s graduate training scheme.
For me, it was more about the role than the industry. I think, consciously or subconsciously, I was always drawn to industrial-type businesses. Deep down, I think I’m a bit of a wannabe engineer. My father always worked in factories, and, during university summers, I did too. So, I think that influenced me, even if I didn’t realise it at the time. You can do anything with a politics or international relations degree because it gives you a broad base. I chose HR because I was interested in it rather than thinking about a specific career pathway. The direction came later.
At Peugeot, it was an interesting time. We’d just secured investment for 206 productions in the UK, which kept the plant alive a bit longer. But, in reality, the UK operation was small, especially compared to the wider group. I was leading training and development for Peugeot UK and, while it was a great role, the opportunities available were mostly larger versions of what I was already doing.
I was offered two jobs at the same time and chose Alstom Power because the role sounded more interesting – more like an internal HR consultant supporting the UK business as a whole. I started in the country office, effectively at the centre of the UK operation, and later became HR director for the Power Service division for the UK & Ireland. At the age 29 I really was not fully prepared for the role. I was in that job for four years, which is the longest I’ve ever stayed in one role. While I was there, I turned down two overseas roles. When a third came up, I couldn’t say no again. So, I moved into a global role based in Paris and then Zurich for three years.
I’ve always seen myself as a generalist HR person at heart, and I’ve made career decisions around that central spine. I’ve had opportunities to run parts of factories – even a whole factory at one point – but it never quite worked out for various reasons (job, location, family). I’ve always wanted to round out my experience within HR. The move to Rolls-Royce came about after my wife and I decided to leave Switzerland for a mix of personal and professional reasons. When I spoke to the business about returning to the UK, the only available opportunities would have been a backwards step. So, I left and joined Rolls-Royce. I was fortunate to have a couple of options, and I chose Rolls-Royce partly for the location – family reasons – but also for the brand, the technology and the challenge.
The move was horizontal and, in hindsight, possibly the wrong one. I went from a fast-paced, highly commercial, decentralised organisation to a slow, matrixed one where decision-making was difficult. It felt like I’d been on an upward trajectory and then stalled. That said, I had some really formative experiences there over a period of eight and a half years. Looking back, though, it didn’t necessarily propel my career. What kept me there were the learning opportunities. At Rolls-Royce and Peugeot, you’re exposed to a lot of best practice and leading-edge HR thinking. Much of my time there was spent managing industrial change in one form or another, which built on what I’d done at Alstom. My USP has really become supporting industrial organisations through change and building cultures of team accountability.
I’ve never worked in London – for family reasons. My wife didn’t want to live there, and I’ve always prioritised that. For the last few years, I’ve worked away from home during the week while living
in the Peak District. My family has always been central to me, and I couldn’t have done what I’ve done without an extremely understanding partner. When I was in Zurich, I was travelling 85% of my time and was really only home at weekends. We had two boys under four at the time, so I couldn’t have done it without her taking on that responsibility.
After Rolls-Royce, I was looking for a different challenge, and I explored whether to start my own business or re-join corporate life. I joined Johnson Matthey. Johnson Matthey was appealing for the challenge: a different industry, a new operating model and a chance to learn. It involved setting up a new factory in Poland and contributing to broader strategic change in the sector. Those big, strategic challenges are what get me out of bed. I couldn’t sit in a steady-state business and just keeping the handle turning. Part of being a leader today is getting it wrong sometimes and confronting those mistakes. Authenticity, transparency and humility are what leadership is about now.
As for stepping into big roles early on – for example, becoming HR director at 29 – I was tapped on the shoulder internally and asked if I’d be interested. How could you say no? That job, and later the global one and the one I’m in now, have all involved sleepless nights and being a bit out of my depth initially. But someone saw something in me, and that’s what leadership development is about – stepping up before you’re completely ready and learning as you go.
You’ve worked with amazing brands and had incredible roles. Not everyone gets ‘tapped on the shoulder’. You must have done something to make these situations happen. Are you a strong advocate for networking, or do you have another approach?
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. In the earlier part of my career, I made some valuable contacts in the executive search world, and that network stood me in good stead over time. Those relationships helped open doors and gave me visibility for opportunities I might not otherwise have known about.
That said, I think it’s become increasingly difficult to rely solely on that route today, so I do believe there’s a balance to strike. Some degree of networking is important, but I’ve never been one for
doing it in a forced or transactional way.
More than anything, it’s about building and maintaining your own genuine network – people you’ve worked closely with, who know what you’re capable of and who trust your judgement and integrity. My last two roles, for example, came directly through people I’d previously worked with. It really comes down to trust and reputation. If you do a good job, behave consistently and maintain strong relationships, people will remember you when opportunities arise.
What have been some of the most valuable experiences throughout your career? Was it working with different markets, saying ‘yes’ to particular opportunities, or something else that prepared you for your current role?
The most valuable experiences have undoubtedly been the ones that took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to adapt and learn quickly. That’s included working across different industries, in multiple countries and within very different operating models. Each of those roles brought a significant strategic challenge, whether it was managing industrial change, setting up a new factory from scratch or transforming the way HR operated within a business.
Saying yes to those opportunities, even when I didn’t feel completely ready, was key. Every time I stretched myself beyond what felt comfortable, I learned something new about leadership, about people and about how organisations work. Those experiences helped to build resilience, broadened my perspective and honed my ability to guide businesses through transformation.
All of that has directly prepared me for my current role. It’s given me a deeper understanding of both the human and operational sides of business, and how to bring them together effectively.
Working in HR, you’ve seen how organisations approach leadership development differently. What do you think is important when developing future leaders, and what can people do to invest in themselves?
I’d start by saying I’m a bit of an HR heretic in some respects. I’ve seen organisations spend huge amounts on leadership development, but their selection practices for leaders lag way behind. For me, you can’t train leaders if you don’t have the right base material to work with. Selection is far more important than any expensive corporate leadership programme.
Using coaching at key points in your career is really valuable, and often more impactful than any leadership programme. Finding great role models and mentors who inspire you, challenge you and offer different perspectives is equally important. I really value people developing breadth. Leadership is about having breadth across functions, industries and countries. While some roles require deep technical expertise – like a brain surgeon – leadership is different. Breadth is critical, and it’s much easier to develop early in your career than later.
Do you think leaders are born, or can they be developed?
It’s probably not as black and white as one or the other. You can’t train a leader entirely from nothing. They need to have some inherent qualities to build on – a certain mindset, values, curiosity and interpersonal awareness. Identifying that base material is, in my view, more important than any job title or formal leadership programme. For me, formative experiences play a big part. I was a sports captain at various points when I was younger, and experiences like that give you an early sense of what leadership feels like – motivating others, setting an example, taking responsibility. But ultimately, you never really know how effective you can be as a leader until you actually give it a go and start getting honest feedback from the people around you. That’s when you begin to understand your impact and how to
grow from it.
How do you see HR’s role in driving organisational effectiveness and contributing to business strategy, and how has that evolved since you started in the field?
I’ve always worked in engineering and manufacturing, and I’ve never really been able to break out of that sector. People often talk about looking for breadth, but when it comes down to it, organisations tend to recruit within a similar industry. So, while HR should be transversal, it’s been challenging to achieve that in practice.
I describe the role of HR – whether it’s people or function – as the grease in the wheels of the organisation. You’re not doing the tasks yourself. I don’t design or build cars directly. But I help teams and individuals be more effective and act as the voice of the organisation back to leadership at various levels. Listening and course correction are key.
The skill of listening is becoming increasingly important. It’s not just about attitude surveys; it’s about talking to people, running roundtables and conducting formal, proactive listening activities that feed into the leadership agenda of the business.
When I started in HR – or personnel as it was then – the job was much more administrative. People spent decades trying to get a seat at the table. Today, good HR automatically has that seat because it has a valuable voice to contribute, but you have to be a business leader first with a focus on the people agenda. You need to understand the business.
HR and finance are both concerned with resource utilisation, but they are also probably the two most independent functions in a business. They bring different perspectives into the executive room to help guide decision-making and shape future strategy.
From your perspective, which CEOs have stood out in terms of getting the best from you as a CPO, and what made those relationships effective?
First and foremost, good CEOs have to value HR and what HR does. They also need to value you as an individual. People often say being a CEO is probably the loneliest job in an organisation, but I think HR can be lonelier. CEOs can talk to their CHRO or CPO, but the HR leader often has to look outside the organisation for a sounding board. A good CEO uses their HR leader as someone they can bounce ideas off, vent to and shape their thinking in a non-judgmental, non-advisory way.
I can pull on examples from both ends of the spectrum. A CEO can be brilliant at their job but if there isn’t a personal fit with the CHRO or CPO, it can be difficult to build a strong working relationship. A personal connection is key. It allows you to build trust because CEOs come to you with high-stakes issues and you need that foundation to engage effectively.
What advice would you give to new senior leaders, and what qualities do you think define effective leadership today?
First and foremost is to stretch yourself, take yourself out of your comfort zone. If a role doesn’t give you a degree of anxiety when taking it, then it may not be stretching you enough personally and professionally.
Having a coach at key points in your career is hugely important. In many cases, coaching can be even more impactful than formal programmes because it’s highly personalised and focused on the specific challenges you’re facing in real time. A good coach helps you see blind spots, reflect more deeply on your approach, and build self-awareness – something that becomes increasingly critical the more senior you get. Equally, finding great mentors who inspire you, challenge your thinking, and offer different perspectives can make a lasting difference. Mentorship provides not only guidance but also perspective from people who’ve faced similar crossroads, helping you make better long-term decisions.
Another aspect I really value is developing breadth. Leadership isn’t just about deep technical expertise; it’s about gaining experience across your function, department, industry, and even geography. The broader your exposure, the more you understand how different parts of the business connect and how to influence effectively across boundaries. The earlier you start to develop that breadth in your career, the more effective and adaptable you’ll become. If you wait too long, it’s much harder to build that breadth, and it can limit your ability to take on complex, cross-functional roles. Great leaders today are those who can bring together different viewpoints, manage ambiguity and stay curious – qualities that are increasingly essential as leadership continues to evolve.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in HR, and how can they set themselves up for success?
I’d encourage anyone with an interest in HR to try it, whatever their background. It’s a career that offers a huge variety of experiences and the chance to make a real difference to how organisations work and how people thrive within them. Increasingly, employers do look for candidates with some form of qualification, whether that’s a CIPD certification or another relevant course, but it’s by no means essential.
You can absolutely start at entry level, perhaps as an HR administrator, and with the right aptitude, curiosity and attitude, you can progress quite quickly. The key is to keep learning and to seek out environments where you can get exposure to different aspects of HR – from employee relations and recruitment to organisational development and strategy.
One important consideration is choosing the right company. I see quite a few people who are the sole HR person within their organisation, and that can be a tough position to develop from. If you’re at the start of your career, I’d really urge you to join a business where you are part of a wider HR team. You’ll learn so much more, benefit from mentoring and collaboration, and avoid feeling isolated.
So yes, if you’re ambitious, think carefully about the size and structure of the organisation, not just the sector. The right environment can make all the difference to your growth and confidence in the profession.
