Darktrace plc announced the appointment of David Smith as Chief People Officer (CPO). David will join the executive management team on April 15, 2024 and will report to Poppy Gustafsson, Chief Executive Officer. David will be responsible for leading the design and delivery of Darktrace's global people strategy with a focus on strengthening HR operations and ensuring the programmes are in place to build high-performing teams that will help Darktrace deliver on its future growth ambitions.

David has over 15 years' experience of working across the technology sector in a range of people roles. He joins from 10x Banking, the SaaS Banking Platform, where he held the role of CPO and was responsible for helping to shape the organisational design of the business and creating a high-performance culture. David has also held roles within the people functions of Cleo AI, Lloyds Banking Group plc, Wonga.com and SagePay.

More recently, he spent five years at Trainline plc, including as HR & Talent Director during a transformational period for the business when it listed on the London Stock Exchange. David Smith's appointment as Chief People Officer follows a number of recent notable appointments to the executive team, including Chris Kozup as Chief Marketing Officer and Denise Walter as Chief Revenue Officer in 2023.