Hill & Smith Holdings PLC announced that, as part of a planned succession process, Derek Muir, Chief Executive, will step down from the Board on 31 December 2020, having informed the Board of his intention to retire. The Board announced that, after an extensive search process, Paul Simmons has been appointed to succeed Derek. He will join Hill & Smith as Chief Executive Designate and as a member of the Board on 1 September 2020, and will work closely with Derek to ensure a smooth hand over of responsibilities.

Paul joined Halma plc ("Halma") in 2010, and was latterly Chief Executive of the Infrastructure Safety and Process Safety sectors.