David Smith was briefly managing director of the Post Office – before Paula Vennells – from April to October 2010.
Amid renewed coverage of the Horizon scandal during his time in charge, Smith commissioned a report into the software – the findings of which insisted the system was “robust”.
Earlier on in the inquiry, the author of that report said he was told to present just “one side of the coin”, and find reasons to be “assured” about the reliability of the Horizon system.
His time as managing director also coincided with the prosecution of Seema Misra, who was wrongly jailed while pregnant. Smith greeted that conviction as “brilliant news,” according to evidence submitted at the inquiry.
After his time in the job, he moved on to become chief customer officer of Royal Mail.