Colin Smith
Director - Engineering & Technology

Colin was appointed as Director - Engineering & Technology in 2005, when he also became a member of the Board of Rolls-Royce. He joined Rolls-Royce as an undergraduate apprentice at the Leavesden engine factory in 1974.

Following graduation in Mechanical Engineering at Southampton University, he worked on a number of helicopter engine projects before becoming Chief Engineer of Small Engines at Rolls-Royce in Bristol.

Colin moved to Derby in 1994 to be Chief Engineer on the Trent 700 engine, followed by Head of Engineering for Compressors and Fans, and then Chief Engineer of the Trent 500 engine.

In May 2001 he was appointed as Director of Engineering & Technology for Civil Aerospace and subsequently Director of Research & Technology.

Colin is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, The Royal Aeronautical Society and The Institution of Mechanical Engineers and was a Royal Academy Silver Medal winner in 2002. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by the University of Strathclyde in June 2007.