Jonathan Smith
Executive Director, Corporate Assurance and General Counsel (Registered Company Secretary)
Jonathan is responsible for leading the Corporate Assurance and Legal function in AWE, which comprises the company’s technical assurance, internal regulation, internal audit, ethics, legal and company secretariat teams. Together, these teams provide advice to AWE on the protection of its rights and conformance with its obligations, and provide independent assurance to AWE’s stakeholders of the effectiveness of AWE’s compliance measures.
With more than 25 years’ experience as an in-house lawyer, Jonathan has operated in global enterprises in the business services, information technology and professional services sectors.
Jonathan graduated from Clare College, Cambridge with a degree in law, qualifying as a solicitor at the international law firm DWF before joining intellectual property specialist law firm Dallas Brett.
After working at US Fortune 500 vehicle fleet and property management business, PHH, Jonathan joined ICL, a business of the Japanese head-quartered global technology company, Fujitsu. His roles there included head of the intellectual property function of Fujitsu Services, the legal director for Fujitsu’s European services businesses and finally general counsel for its UK and Ireland product and services operations. After leaving Fujitsu, Jonathan acted as general counsel to the managed legal services business of the international law firm, Berwin Leighton Paisner, and worked with the consultancy to in-house lawyers, LBC Wise Counsel.
After resuming his in-house career at global network communications company, Metaswitch Networks, Jonathan joined AWE as General Counsel and Company Secretary in 2016.
Named in The Lawyer magazine’s Hot 100 in 2008, Jonathan has also been elected as a lifetime fellow of the Society for Computers and Law. He writes on legal functional management and acts as a mentor to in-house lawyers.
Jonathan lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and two children. Aside from family commitments, he is a keen singer and gardener.
