His appointment comes after existing CFO Gary Speakman took over as chief operating officer.
Smith will assume the role in October, reporting to chief executive Richard Calvert.
He joins from dnata Emirates where he was finance director B2B Europe, and has previously held senior roles at Airtours, Cooperative Travel and Gold Medal/Travel 2.
“I feel privileged to be joining Specialist Leisure Group, a company with so much heritage and diversity and I look forward to working closely with Richard, Gary and the team,” said Smith.
Calvert added: “Our rigorous recruitment process clearly identified Paul as the stand out candidate and I’m positive he will prove to be a great asset and cultural fit within the SLG family.”
Shearings Leisure Group was rebranded Specialist Leisure Group last month to better reflect, it said, the “breadth and depth” of its leisure and travel brands.
