Home Appointments & Contracts Smoothwall appoints ex-Tesla Georg Ell as CEO

Smoothwall appoints ex-Tesla Georg Ell as CEO

Smoothwall, the market-leading developer of web filtering and monitoring solutions, today named Georg Ell as its Chief Executive Officer. Georg brings with him over a decade of experience in the technology sector, having previously held senior leadership roles at Tesla, Yammer, and Microsoft.

The role, which Georg will take up on May 1st, will see him lead Smoothwall’s global business, which currently employs over 150 people across UK and USA, as it seeks to grow its market presence and develop its technology.

Commenting on his appointment Georg Ell said: “Keeping people safe online is critical to today’s digital world; in particular, safeguarding our children who face unprecedented threats online including cyber-bullying, radicalisation, and grooming. I am very proud to join the highly mission-driven team at Smoothwall; at Smoothwall’s heart is keeping all people, but especially children, safe. This is deep-rooted in the company and myself, and I can’t wait to start and drive our mission forward.”

Prior to being named Smoothwall’s CEO, Georg spent more than four years at Tesla as Director of Western Europe, launching the Model S and Model X into five countries, growing the team to over 330 staff in 36 locations, and driving exceptional revenue growth. Prior to Tesla, Georg was the General Manager, EMEA at Yammer, where he led the team from 3 to 85 employees before the acquisition by Microsoft for $1.2bn. Before Yammer, Georg worked at Microsoft for five years, leading the earliest Enterprise Cloud deals in EMEA.


Northern Powerhouse Partnership Director Henri Murison said: “It is a pleasure to welcome Georg to the business community here in the Northern Powerhouse, showing how attractive our tech community is becoming and the calibre of people joining our many entrepreneurs driving the North’s ambitions. With Smoothwall’s business purpose including keeping young people safe on the web while at school, they are a great example of the role many businesses play in the education of the next generation and I’m sure Georg will drive this to new heights.”

In his new role, Georg will look to capitalise on Smoothwall’s strong reputation for best-in-class innovation and outstanding customer service, to accelerate the growth of the business in the UK, USA and internationally. Smoothwall will continue to provide the best online safety and security solutions for schools, businesses and public sector organisations.

Smoothwall is actively seeking talented and passionate people to join this leading-edge team whilst offering the attractions of Leeds and The Yorkshire Dales on our doorstep. Please visit Smoothwall’s careers website for more information.