Karim Sekkat

Chairman

Karim started his first venture while at business school, followed a path in investment banking and held various board positions of private and public companies in Europe before going at it alone. Karim has pursued a buy & build strategy over the last 10 years and is ranked in the Thames Valley 100. He is the recipient of multiple regional and national runner up awards, and a seasoned speaker at major business schools and for business and manufacturing magazines. His vision lead to its company being the only subcontract manufacturer in the United Kingdom awarded the investor in People Gold standard. His vision is to continuously strive for world-class. 

David Kimber

Managing Director 

Dave has held managerial positions in the precision engineering space for over 30 years. Dave began his career immediately after leaving school where he became an apprentice at Avenall as a toolmaker. After his apprenticeship Dave joined his father in managing a company dedicated to supplying and manufacturing pressing and assemblies for the car industry. In the late 1990s Dave joined with Craig Soubieski to create PDQ Precision. This was their first joint venture into precision engineering where they began business relationships with the likes of Williams F1, relationships they proudly maintain to this day. After selling PDQ in 2008 Dave continued his work as an accomplished machinist for some of Oxfordshire's largest engineering companies. Eventually in 2010 Dave and Craig decided to form SMS, this time with Karim Sekkat on board with the aim of emulating the best of PDQ but with a new standard of professionalism the industry had come to expect. Despite the administrative and clerical responsibilities of the Managing Director role, Dave maintains an active role (where he can) as a CNC Machinists, ensuring that his longstanding experience and stubborn insistence on precision is exercised on the shop floor. 

Charly Kimber

Customer Accounts Manager

Charly's entire career has been dedicated to providing excellent customer service, along with reviewing and modernising customer orientated processes. Charly began her customer service career within the Oil and Gas Industry, with a specific focus on engineering. Within such an intense and dynamic industry, Charly was charged with liaising with multiple stakeholders and clients to ensure expectations were always met. Charly was at the forefront of customer satisfaction and communication during the advent of radical industry changes, specifically with the introduction of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda. Charly's personal tenacity is shown not only in her career, but also her personal endeavours. After successful rehabilitation from an RTA, Charly felt compelled to obtain a BSc in Computing and specialised in robotics. She proudly used these skills to become a Support Engineer and Schools Outreach Leader. Whilst at SMS Charly has completely modernised our CRM and our general approach to customer communication, bringing SMS in line with contemporary client expectations. Charly's recognition for 'precision' in the context of customer communication demands we adopt a transparent approach which keeps our clients as involved and up to date with the production process as they see fit. 

Yanos Soubieski

Director

Yanos Soubieski gained his PhD in Politics in 2024 from the University of Reading and has held a mixture of educational and financial posts. As a Teaching Fellow Yanos’ interests were originally politically theoretical in nature but have gone on to understanding the relationship between government policy and macroeconomic outcomes, along with a comprehension of capital and credit movements in a modern economy.  Yanos is currently a Nominated Member to the Board of Trustees for the University of Reading Pension Scheme involved in making investment choices on a pension portfolio worth over £21 million as of May 2025. Yanos is also fully certified by ‘The Pensions Regulator’ as a trustee for both Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit Pension Scheme. Yanos’ appointment as a Director in May 2025 was immediately accompanied by an enthusiasm to carry on his father’s work and an impetus to ensure complete operational utilisation. Yanos’ Directorship offers a fresh insight into the running of a precision engineering facility and a critical perspective on legacy processes. Equally his determination to maintain and develop business relations provides SMS with an ever-increasing customer base to parallel our ever-increasing manufacturing portfolio.