Smiths Group plc has appointed Val Rahmani as an independent non-executive director, the London listed engineering group said on 25 August 2026. Rahmani, whose career spans more than 30 years in technology and financial services, joins the board with effect from 1 October 2026 and takes a seat on the Audit and Risk Committee on the same date, placing a director with cyber security operating experience at the centre of the company's risk oversight.
The announcement paired her appointment with that of Emma FitzGerald, who becomes an independent non-executive director with effect from 1 November 2026. Steve Williams, chairman of the group, welcomed both appointees in the statement. Pam Cheng steps down from the Audit and Risk Committee on 1 October 2026, the day Rahmani joins it, and continues to serve on the board. The company said that no disclosures were required under UK Listing Rule 9.6.13R in respect of either appointment, the standard confirmation given to shareholders when a listed organisation names a new director.
Rahmani brings more than 30 years of experience across technology and financial services. She is currently a non-executive director of London Stock Exchange Group, of RenaissanceRe Holdings and of Entrust Corporation. She was previously a non-executive director of Computer Task Group and of Elliott Opportunity II Corp, holding both positions until 2023. Her executive career included more than 25 years at IBM in senior leadership roles, after which she served as chief executive officer of the cyber security company Damballa. She holds a DPhil in Chemistry from the University of Oxford.
Smiths Group plc is a British engineering group whose shares are listed in London and which is therefore subject to the UK Listing Rules, the regime under which it confirmed that no matters required disclosure in respect of the two appointments. Its board operates an Audit and Risk Committee, the body Rahmani joins in October and from which Cheng steps down on the same day. The two incoming directors have effective dates a month apart, a sequencing that is common at listed organisations where inductions and the clearing of existing commitments are handled one at a time.
The appointment adds technology and cyber security experience to the board of an engineering group, and the decision to place Rahmani on the Audit and Risk Committee from her first day suggests the board wanted that experience applied directly to risk oversight rather than held back for a later rotation. That reading is an inference from the timing, since the announcement did not set out the board's reasoning. Her continuing seat at London Stock Exchange Group means she already works within the disclosure obligations of a large London listed issuer, which on the face of it should shorten her induction. The recruitment of two independent non-executive directors in a single announcement, with effective dates in consecutive months, is also more consistent with a planned refresh of board composition than with a reaction to an unexpected departure, although the company did not characterise it in those terms.
