Solid State plc announced the appointment of Sam Smith to the Board of the Company as an independent Non-Executive Director with effect from 1 August 2023. Sam will sit on the Audit and Remuneration Committees. Sam is an entrepreneur with over 25 years' business and capital markets experience and has specialised in advising small and mid-cap growth companies.

She was previously Chief Executive Officer of finnCap Group which, under her leadership. She is currently a non-executive director of Sumer Group, a professional services firm supporting SMEs with accounting and other services, and of Griffin Markets Limited, an OTC wholesale European energy trading business. Sam is a chartered accountant, having qualified at KPMG and has received numerous awards in business including Top 100 Financial Risings Stars Award and National Business Woman of the Future Award.

She is part of the Government Taskforce on Women-Led High Growth Enterprises, supporting the next generation of female entrepreneurs. Sam is also on the advisory board for Everywoman, which champions the advancement of women in business and is a Patron to The Entrepreneurs Network. The Company further announced that Peter Haining, Non-Executive Director, has decided that after a long and distinguished period as a director of the Company, it is appropriate for him not to seek re-election at the upcoming AGM in September.

Peter has overseen a significant period of growth and development of the Group and has made an invaluable contribution to the Company, including during its transition to a fully QCA complaint structure. Peter has further agreed to continue to serve as Company Secretary to ensure a smooth transition in the near term, but will retire from this role towards the end of the current financial year. The Board will seek to appoint a further independent Non-Executive Director within the coming year, who will have the requisite qualifications, skills and experience to chair the Audit Committee.

In the intervening period, Nigel Rogers will chair the Audit Committee on an interim basis and will be supported by Peter Haining during the handover phase. Peter Magowan, the Senior Independent Director, will continue to chair the Remuneration committee. Recruitment of the additional independent Non-Executive Director will be determined by the Board based on recommendations from the Nominations Committee comprising Nigel Rogers, Peter Magowan and Gary Marsh.