Raymond Smith??Raymond W. Smith (BS/TPR ’59)
Raymond W. Smith is Chairman of Rothschild, Inc., Chairman of N M Rothschild & Sons Canada Limited, and Chairman of Verizon Ventures. He is also the founding partner of Arlington Capital Partners.
In 1999, he retired as chairman of New York-based Verizon (formerly Bell Atlantic) after ten years as the corporation's top officer. During that time, Smith refashioned the company into the largest communications corporation in the country, positioning the firm globally in the expanding markets of the future. In 1998, Fortune listed Bell Atlantic as the number one communications company in terms of increased shareholder value over the previous ten years. It was seventeenth out of the top 1000 companies. Under Mr. Smith's leadership, Bell Atlantic acquired NYNEX in 1997 and announced the acquisition of GTE in 1998, two of the largest transactions in business history.
Among various awards, Smith was named "CEO of the Year" by CNBC, "Top Manager" by Business Week, "Chief Executive of the Year" by the International Television Association, “Outstanding Corporate Leader” and “CEO of the Year” by Financial World. He also won Columbia University’s “Cleveland E. Dodge Medal,” Supercomm’s “Legends in Leadership” and the “American Academy of Achievement” Award. He has been recognized by Harvard Business Review and other scholarly publications as a pioneer in the transformation of corporate cultures. Considered a disciplined and pragmatic corporate leader, Smith also has been hailed as a visionary who accelerated the development of global communications for the 21st century. Mr. Smith also received five honorary doctorates including Temple and Drexel Universities.
Prior to becoming chairman and chief executive officer of Bell Atlantic, Smith held the titles of president and chief financial officer. He also served as AT&T's director of finance.
Active in many civic, charitable, and cultural organizations, Smith was appointed to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the National Forum on Education and Technology. He serves on advisory boards of the House of Representatives for Renewing US Science Policy and is Co-Chairman of the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress. Over the years, Smith has been a member of the boards of directors of Westinghouse, CBS, Viacom, First Union, U S Airways, Lincoln Center and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He currently serves on the boards of Rothschild Continuation Investments (Chairman), Five Arrows Capital AG, Carnegie Corporation, The Rockefeller Foundation, NTT DoCoMo, Carnegie Mellon University and George Mason University Life Sciences Advisory Board.
Long a supporter of civil rights and an outspoken activist on cyber hate issues, he was the first recipient of the Mickey Leland Award for Diversity in Telecommunications and was honored by the NAACP for life-long service to equal opportunity. He also received the Legacy Laureate Award from the University of Pittsburgh and was inducted into the American Society of Achievement. In addition, he was associated with and/or honored by the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Jewish Theological Seminary.