David Simmons

Chairman

David was the Managing Director of Hills Industries Limited (Hills) for 16 years. On appointment, Hills had a turnover of around $200M. On his retirement in 2008, Hills turnover and market capitalisation were both in excess of $1B. Hills was in the ASX200 index and under David’s leadership, profit increased every year for 16 years.

Hills grew through a combination of internal growth and via acquisitions. During his time as Managing Director, David led around 30 successful acquisitions and joint ventures. David has strong people, financial, capital markets and M&A skills and has significant international experience, particularly focussed on China, the USA and the UK. Hills employed 4000 people globally at its peak.

David recently retired from the Board of Codan Limited which he joined in 2008. He was appointed Chairman of the board in 2015. After David was appointed Chairman, Codan’s market capitalisation grew significantly.  This was achieved by investing in people, having a commitment to continuous learning, encouraging entrepreneurship, rewarding performance and investing in innovation in a digital world.

David is currently on the board of a number of large private companies. He is currently the Chairman of both the CMV Group and the Ahrens Group.  David recently retired from the board of Thomson Geer Lawyers after 12 years, and also served on the board of the Detmold Group for 8 years to 2019.

David has chaired a number of charitable and government related organisations since retiring from Hills. He is currently the Chair of the  Kickstart for Kids charity based in South Australia and is a former Chair of the South Australian Economic Development board.