People

Lauren Smith

Managing Partner and Co-Practice Leader, Board Practice

Board of Directors, Consumer Markets and Retail, Managing Directors, Technology
Lauren Smith

Lauren E. Smith is Managing Partner and Co-Practice Leader, Board Practice. She was named to the 2022 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Director 100 as a top governance professional in the country. She is the current Chair Governance and immediate past President of the NACD Florida Chapter. She is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and an NACD Certified Director.

She started her career in executive search in 2000 with Egon Zehnder and has conducted senior-level executive search assignments for companies ranging from high-growth early-stage organizations to multinational corporations. Lauren specializes in working with companies that are growing and/or transforming into new markets and businesses. She is valued by clients for her ability to understand an organization’s strategic direction, her skills at assessing the cultural fit of candidates, and her dedication to quality and timeliness.

Lauren has placed board members at clients such as CubeSmart, International Paper, John Hancock, Jacobs Engineering, Leggett & Platt, Urban Outfitters and Wynn Resorts. 

Before moving into executive search, Lauren had twelve years’ experience leading marketing and strategy at two Fortune 50 companies – Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Motorola Inc. During her time at Motorola, she also led marketing and customer operations for a new wireless joint venture in Bogotá, Colombia.

Lauren has been quoted as an expert on executive and board recruiting in Directors & Boards, NACD Directorship, Entrepreneur Magazine, American Way Magazine, and the Miami Herald. She frequently speaks on board composition and refreshment. Lauren was named by South Florida Business Journal as a Most Influential Business Woman.

She recently published an article in the NACD Directorship magazine “Board Diversity: From Aspiration to Action”..

Lauren has lived and worked in Europe and Latin America and is fluent in Spanish.

Education

MBA
Thunderbird School of Management

BS
Pennsylvania State University