Peterborough boss at the forefront of fight against cyber crime

Just 27-years-old, George Smith has already been running Kamarin Computers, based in the Metro Centre, in Welbeck Way, in Woodston, for about two years.

The qualified accountant says he never worried that a lack of years might just add to the weight of the burden of responsibility.

It seems being at the forefront of business is in his blood.

His father, David, was an entrepreneur who set up his own business, HBP Systems, in Hull, 26 years ago and which went on to acquire Kamarin Computers in 2004.

It might seem tough for a trained accountant to be at the helm of a company specialising in computer software.

But George said: “It has worked well. It has allowed people to concentrate on the roles at which they are best.

“Although I understand the fundamentals, I’m not a programmer. Our previous managing director understood programming and coding and wanted to concentrate on that side of the business.”

George leaves the software side to others and focuses on managing the company and creating a first class team.

He said: “Obviously I had grown up with the businesses and I had got to know about the issues involved.

“My father was my main inspiration.

“He used to say that all you can do is to weigh up both sides of an issue and then make a decision.

“It might be right, or it might be wrong. So as long as you get more right than wrong, you will be okay.

“I think that even in 20 or 30 years’ time, despite the experience, it will still be the same.”

George says that right from his school days he has always been competitive.

He said: “I always liked being in charge.

“At school I was head prefect. I was also absolutely determined that I would head up the young enterprise company set up at school.”

After leaving school, George went on to complete an economics geography degree at Newcastle University before spending four years with heavyweight accountants KPMG successfully training as an accountant.

During that time he got the opportunity to work with many businesses ranging from small start ups to bakery chain Greggs.

He said: “For three-and-a-half years it was like working for 50 different businesses. I was able to see what they did well, and what they didn’t do well.”

He joined Kamarin - named by its founder after a racehorse - in November 2015, and six months later he was made managing director.

He said: “It was a swift change followed by a steep learning curve.”

John Bridge, chief executive of Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, said: “George is certainly one of the youngest managing directors in Peterborough, if not the youngest.

“Cyber crime is a major issue and there is a lot of legislation coming through that which we will bring to businesses’ attention.”

Related:

Cyber criminals pose daily threat to Peterborough companies