Philip Smith appointed CEO as Ecology Group builds leading ecological and environmental specialist firm
Leading specialist ecological and environmental consultancy – Ecology Group – has today announced the appointment of Philip Smith as Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant milestone in the firm’s next phase of growth. Philip takes on the mantle from CFO, Chris Heyes, who has led the business since its inception last year.
With a career spanning more than 30 years across IBM, Ricardo Energy and Environment, Xynteo, and most recently Cognizant, Philip brings extensive experience in commercial growth, strategy, business transformation, technology, leadership and sustainability advisory to the ambitious and rapidly expanding business. Attracted by the opportunity to shape a new leading specialist firm that brings together some of the UK’s most respected ecological and environmental consultancies, Philip is stepping up to lead a business with specialist services from ecology and biodiversity to climate risk management. In more concrete terms – he now leads a business of over £25 million revenue and 350 professionals.
In his role as Vice President and Global Head of the Sustainability Business Transformation Practice at Cognizant, Philip led the company’s sustainability advisory practice, enabling businesses across the globe to develop and implement effective sustainable strategies, accelerate transformation, strengthen resilience, and create long-term business value. He also spearheaded Cognizant’s landmark Deep Green study, exploring how sustainability leadership can drive innovation, resilience, and commercial differentiation and growth.
A recognised thought leader, Philip is a frequent speaker at major international events, including United Nations COP28, Dubai where he was a panellist at the Microsoft Pavillion, and discussed how Cognizant enables clients to unlock the power of data and digital technologies to accelerate and scale responses to environmental challenges and opportunities. At Economist Impact’s 8th annual Sustainability Week, Philip shared insights on business best practice to embed sustainability into their operations, backed by real-life examples of success and long-term value.
As Chief Executive Officer, Philip will lead Ecology Group through its next phase of growth and beyond, with a focus on strengthening collaboration across the Group’s specialist businesses, expanding its service offering and market presence, amplifying the power of technology and enabling clients to navigate complexity, reduce risk, unlock opportunity, and turn environmental intelligence into lasting value.
Reflecting on his appointment and ambitions for his new role, Philip Smith said:
“What attracted me to Ecology Group was the strength of its ambition and the exceptional knowledge and potential that exists across this team and its markets. The Group has created something genuinely unique by bringing together some of the UK’s most respected ecological and environmental consultancies into one highly inter-connected business with deep specialist knowledge and client centricity at its heart powered by best-in-class technology but now with the support, steer, and commercial backing that the Group provides.
“The fact is that ecological and environmental consultancy will only become more critical as the link between nature, development, climate and business resilience becomes increasingly clear, and effective management of this link increasingly necessary. The businesses that build our roads and housing, provide our energy, water, food, natural resources and more need trusted and evidence-based advice to grow at pace while maintaining planetary boundaries and moving to more regenerative practices. Ecology Group is positioned to meet that need, and I’m deeply honoured to be able to work with these exceptional colleagues to drive the business through its next phase of growth.”
Chris Heyes, CFO at Ecology Group said:
“Philip’s appointment is a significant moment for Ecology Group and a pivotal step in our growth journey. We were looking for a leader who combines deep sector understanding with strong commercial vision, and who recognises that business value and environmental protection not only go hand in hand but must be given equal weight and importance. Philip’s experience makes him exceptionally well placed to lead the business and we’re delighted to welcome him to the team.”
“As a Group, we’ve united some of the most well-respected ecological and environmental consultancies in the sector and have created a successful business with deep specialist knowledge at its heart. Philip shares our ambition to be the leading and most respected ecological and environmental specialist firm shaping the decisions that determine the future of nature, development, and financial capital. It has been a real privilege to lead Ecology Group over the last eighteen months, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Philip on the next phase of our journey.”
Philip joins Ecology Group at a time of significant growth for the business. In 2026 alone, the Group has welcomed seven specialist consultancies, further strengthening its breadth of specialist services and national presence. With demand for trusted, evidence-backed advice growing, Ecology Group continues to build a specialist firm that enables clients to navigate complexity, reduce risk, and unlock opportunity, while demonstrating the commercial value of environmental intelligence.
About Ecology Group
Ecology Group’s ecological and environmental specialists enable organisations to make consequential decisions.
We combine leading field expertise and well-honed judgement with data-driven insight and technology. This is how we enable organisations to understand risk, identify opportunity, and make decisions impacting their environment with conviction. We bring the best specialists to the fore for every client challenge, drawing on practical knowledge that spans ecology and biodiversity through to nature finance, environmental standards, and geospatial services.
We work with organisations across the built and natural environment, infrastructure, energy, public sector, and finance on projects where environmental impact, commercial performance, and long-term resilience are inseparable. We step into organisations’ shoes to understand their challenges and focus on the solutions that make the most impact. We enable them to navigate complexity, reduce risk, unlock opportunity, and turn environmental intelligence into lasting value.
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