Hirsch Group Appoints Darren Learmonth as Global Chief Technology Officer
Lyon, France, May 12th 2026 – Hirsch Group, a global leader in high-assurance security solutions, announces the appointment of Darren Learmonth as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In this newly strengthened global role, Darren will lead technology, innovation, and R&D strategy across all Hirsch Group entities worldwide.
This appointment marks an important step in Hirsch Group’s evolution. Until now, the Group’s R&D and innovation activities have been driven by highly skilled regional teams operating across different geographies, delivering numerous successful and innovative projects. With Darren’s arrival, Hirsch Group is taking the next leap forward—bringing greater coherence, alignment, and long‑term strategic vision to its global technology and innovation roadmap.
“As Hirsch Group continues to grow globally, it is essential that we strengthen how we think about technology and innovation across the entire Group,” said Eric Thord, CEO of Hirsch Group.
“Darren brings the seniority, experience, and forward‑thinking mindset needed to connect our outstanding teams worldwide, structure our R&D efforts, and help us anticipate the future needs of our customers.”
As Global CTO, Darren will work closely with Hirsch Group’s leadership and engineering teams to elevate and structure R&D initiatives across the Group, ensuring innovation is driven by both current and future customer needs. Innovation and technology sit at the core of Hirsch Group’s strategy, enabling the delivery of solutions that address increasingly complex security and operational challenges.
Hirsch Group’s global R&D organization brings together more than 180 engineers across the Group, forming a strong foundation for innovation. Darren will leverage this collective expertise to foster collaboration, break down silos, and accelerate the development of next‑generation security solutions.
“Hirsch Group has an exceptional depth of technical talent across the Group,” said Darren Learmonth, Chief Technology Officer at Hirsch Group. “What excites me most is the opportunity to connect these brilliant teams, encourage collaboration across regions, and build a shared vision that helps us innovate faster and smarter for our customers.”
Darren brings a wealth of experience from a wide range of industries and technologies. His background spans real‑time operating systems, underwater autonomous vehicles, highly secure cryptography devices, residential electronic door locks, and enterprise access control solutions. He has previously held senior technology leadership roles at HID, Nortek Control, and acre security, among others.
“I’ve been fortunate to be part of many amazing companies in very different industries,” Darren said. “I am driven by the people in the team and an inherent curiosity to differentiate and do things differently—to continuously raise the bar.”
With this appointment, Hirsch Group reinforces its commitment to innovation, global collaboration, and technical excellence—laying the groundwork for the next generation of secure, scalable, and future‑ready solutions.
