Mace Security International Inc., Horsham, Pa., announced that Michael Smith was appointed the company’s chief executive officer. Raefield, the company’s current CEO and president, notified the company of his resignation after the completion of his employment contract, effective on August 18, 2011.

Richard A. Barone, Mace’s chairman of the board, stated, “We thank Dennis Raefield for his years of service and dedication to Mace as our CEO and as a member of our board of directors. We wish Dennis the best in his future endeavors. We also welcome Michael Smith in his new role as CEO, and we are excited about the experience Mike brings to Mace in the security industry including his expertise in providing strategic and operational advice to small and medium size companies.”

Smith served as a director of the company since June 18, 2010. Smith was an independent consultant and managing and founding partner of Chesterbrook Growth Partners, a consulting organization focused on providing strategic and operational advice to small to medium size firms in the security, auto-identification and electronic components industries. During 2001 and 2002, Smith was president and CEO of Checkpoint Systems Inc. During Smith’s 14-year tenure at Checkpoint, he also held the positions of executive vice president and senior vice president.