Nick will help Smith expand its global initiatives with nearly two decades of financial expertise and plans for continuous growth.
Smith, a global distributor of electronic components and semiconductors, announces the appointment of Nick Bedford to the position of Chief Financial Officer. In this position, Nick will oversee Smith’s global financial operations as the company expands its services and worldwide reach.
Before joining Smith, Nick spent most of his career in the energy sector and served as RWE/Excelerate’s Chief Financial Officer for ten years. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Nick has extensive experience in directing global financial operations in key regions throughout the world.
“Smith’s financial stability has been a cornerstone of our success for more than 35 years,” said Matt Hartzell, Chief Administrative Officer of Smith. “We look forward to incorporating Nick’s extensive knowledge, skillset, and guidance into our financial strategy.”
Nick is stepping into this role to succeed Smith’s CFO, Michael Weaber, who will be retiring. Weaber has provided more than a decade of service and support to Smith and the Smith family of companies and will offer guidance to Nick in his new role to ensure a smooth transition of the CFO responsibilities.
“Nick brings almost 20 years of expertise to his new role as Smith’s Chief Financial Officer, positioning him as an excellent addition to our executive team,” said Lee Ackerley, Smith’s Executive Vice President and co-founder. “His leadership of our financial operations will be instrumental as we continue to grow and innovate. It’s easy to find accounting professionals who can handle the basics like treasury and reporting, but it’s much harder to find people who can see the big picture and help the owners to grow the entire business.”
Nick has already begun to build the strategy that will support this growth.
“I’m very excited to join the team of one of the world’s premier open-market electronic component distributors,” he said. “After nearly two decades in the energy space, it is an exciting change to move into electronics, which are at the forefront of helping drive growth in the world economy.”
“I look forward to using my prior energy-commodity trading knowledge from RWE and experience managing global finance teams to help continue to drive Smith forward and expand its global footprint,” Nick added. “I believe the prospects for Smith are very encouraging as electronic automation increases in our day-to-day lives.”