Christopher Smith

Christopher Smith

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Chief Executive Officer
United States

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Jobs verified_user 0% verified
  • Spaulding Ridge
    Chief Executive Officer
    Spaulding Ridge
    Jun 2026 - Current (3 months)
    Spaulding Ridge is a global leader in business transformation for the offices of the CFO and CRO. We drive clear outcomes for Fortune 500 companies by transforming company data and business processes for better insight, collaboration, and decision making - because when you see further, you go further. We help companies use their cloud technology to achieve: - Financial and operational strength. Plan, execute, record, review, and optimize every piece of your business with integrated finance and operations solutions. - Revenue excellence. Drive profit by giving your customers the personal attention and outstanding service they expect. - Organizational effectiveness. Get the managed services support, change management support, systems integrat
  • Grant Thornton US
    Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer (CSO) (CCO) at Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
    Grant Thornton US
    Apr 2024 - Mar 2025 (1 year)
    - Transformational leader of the strategy, sales, marketing, M&A, AI & innovation function; led a ~400-person global org (onshore/offshore). • Partnered with Chief Sales Officer to lead a complete sales force organizational restructure: pipeline +23%, pipeline health +60%+, origination +30%+, cross-sell ~+10%. • Interim Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) who personally led the firm’s AI-first marketing modernization: digital mix +200%; cost-per-lead –35%+; ROMI +20%. • Led M&A strategy & commercial diligence (converted targets totaling $450M+ revenue). • As Interim Chief Product Officer (CPO) established the firm’s first enterprise AI strategy; launched product innovation group (gen-AI pilots across delivery & ops) and transitioned to newly hire
  • Grant Thornton US
    Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)
    Grant Thornton US
    Jan 2023 - Jun 2024 (1 year 6 months)
    • Core executive in a multi-billion-dollar PE investment/transaction (among the largest in professional services/accounting). • Designed firm-wide growth strategy (new segmentation; first enterprise solutions portfolio). • Directed M&A strategy (target ID, diligence); including data to support divestiture of Public Sector to Guidehouse. • GTM redesign: field activity +300%; cross-sell ~+10%.
  • Grant Thornton US
    Board Member
    Grant Thornton US
    Nov 2019 - Jan 2023 (3 years 3 months)
    As Board member, I nominated, formed and chaired the first Strategy and M&A Sub-Committee overseeing all enterprise strategy and M&A governance. Multiple suggestions & recommendations including acquisitions, divestitures and PE investment originated from this sub-committee altering the trajectory of one of the largest global firms in operation.
  • Business Executives for National Security BENS
    Member
    Business Executives for National Security BENS
    Sep 2019 - Jan 2022 (2 years 5 months)
    Business Executives for National Security (BENS) is an American nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. BENS is comprised of over 400 senior business and industry executives who volunteer their time and expertise to address the national security community’s most pressing challenges. Focused originally on restraining proliferation of nuclear arms and reducing defense overhead, BENS today leverages the diverse expertise of its members to support government efforts that tackle other prominent challenges; from cybersecurity to talent management.
  • Grant Thornton US
    National Managing Principal - Strategy & Transformation
    Grant Thornton US
    Apr 2016 - Jan 2023 (6 years 10 months)
    • P&L leader for the national Strategy practice; scaled from $20M → $100M+ in under five years. • Led 100+ engagements for corporate & PE clients (focus: SaaS/software/tech & professional services). • Built the firm’s first Commercial Diligence (CDD) & Market Study offering; integrated on/off-shore delivery models. • Drove enterprise growth strategies, innovative business models, pricing approaches, value creation offices and commercial transformations.
  • Rallysong
    Board of Directors Member
    Rallysong
    Jan 2014 - Dec 2015 (2 years)
    Rallysong is a place for artists and fans to rally for important causes. Historically, artists have been powerful advocates for change, raising billions of dollars for causes through their music, tickets, merchandise and experiences. Today, the internet makes fundraising easier than ever and has changed the way people support the causes they care about. While there are many ways to fundraise online, nobody is focusing on the intersection of music and charity. In the future, our hope is for Rallysong to be a powerful community of active, forward thinking people brought together by the music they love and a desire to change the world for the better. www.rallysong.com
  • C
    Board of Directors Member
    CityMix Inc
    Nov 2013 - Apr 2015 (1 year 6 months)
    CityMix, Inc. has developed a unique and economical technology that enables the recycling of large volumes of waste packaging and insulating foam (commonly “EPS”) into an extraordinarily lightweight and user-friendly material suitable for blending in a wide variety of concrete products. The patent-pending technology allows varying portions of the heavy sands and gravels common to cement-based mixtures to be replaced with ultra-lightweight CityMix material in order to reduce overall concrete product weight. Specialty coated, static-free, ultra-lightweight CityMix particles help enhance certain desirable concrete performance characteristics such as flexibility, resilience, freeze-thaw durability and crack resistance. The material is composed
  • V
    Founding Partner
    Valen Holdings LLC
    Jan 2011 - May 2026 (15 years 5 months)
    Valen Holdings LLC connects expertise, funding and a partnership ecosystem to individuals, ideas or companies that want to disrupt the current state. Valen Holdings LLC has invested in and/or launched new business entities in real estate, retail, crowdfunding, food & beverage, software, educational learning, sustainable technology and professional services.
  • Arryve Acquired by Grant Thornton
    Chief Executive Officer
    Arryve Acquired by Grant Thornton
    Jul 2007 - Mar 2016 (8 years 9 months)
    ARRYVE is a growth strategy consulting firm focused on accelerating people, projects and organizations toward the results that matter. We future proof organizations, ranging from the Fortune 50 to the Fortune "Someday," through an interactive, results-driven and human-centered approach which is powered by ARRYVE’s Applied Catalystics methodologies. • Scaled from 1 → ~75 employees and to ~$20M revenue; Consulting Magazine Sevem Small Jewels, INC 500|5000 & Best Places to Work (multi-year). • Personally advised 15 of the Fortune 50 with a deep focus on software/tech/SaaS. • Led hundreds of global innovation engagements focused on business model disruption and revenue acceleration (SaaS/subscription economics, mobile evolution, digital trans
  • S
    Management Consulting
    Strategy Consulting
    Aug 2005 - Jun 2007 (1 year 11 months)
  • Hitachi Consulting
    Management Consulting
    Hitachi Consulting
    Feb 2003 - Aug 2005 (2 years 7 months)
  • VerteconPerficient
    Management Consulting
    VerteconPerficient
    Jan 2000 - Jan 2001 (1 year 1 month)
Education verified_user 0% verified
  • Saint Louis University
    Bachelors of Science, MIS
    Saint Louis University
  • Saint Louis University
    Bachelors of Science, Accounting
    Saint Louis University
Projects (professional or personal) verified_user 0% verified
    Publications verified_user 0% verified
    • G
      What Bezos Buying The Post Teaches us about Business Threats
      GeekWire Aug
      Jeff Bezos set off quite a bit of handwringing and soul-searching when he purchased The Washington Post earlier this month for $250 million, from the digital disruption and destruction of the media industry, to debate over exactly where the Amazon.com founder lives (in case “the other Washington” wasn’t clear enough), to the inevitable online shopping jokes. Clearly, owners of city newspapers now have more to fear than media consolidation and the disappearance of advertising revenue.
    • F
      Culture of Now: Speed vs. Privacy
      Fast Company Grant Thornton Mar
      In a culture of instant gratification, companies need to be both speedy and thoughtful about customer privacy.
    • G
      Let’s Talk about Culture
      GeekWire Oct
      Within a few days of Facebook announcing plans to build a residential housing community that is walking distance to a sprawling Menlo Park, Calif. campus described by the Wall Street Journal as already, “so full of cushy perks that some employees may never want to go home,” a former Google contract worker questioned here at GeekWire as to whether the plush amenities and laid-back work style that works so well for recruiting actually reflects the reality of the work. Facebook and Google are just two of the corporate giants in the war for talent influencing the lifestyles offered by company offices around the country. Taking cues from the more-relaxed environment of college campuses, the increased flexibility and collaboration of the modern-
    • H
      Don't Hire Entrepreneurs; Hire Entrepreneurial Spirit
      Harvard Business Review Feb
      We want people with entrepreneurial spirit on our team, and actively seek it out. These are the people that challenge the norm, have original opinions that move a discussion forward, and act with tenacity and determination. But too often employers hire entrepreneurs, not entrepreneurial spirit. Big mistake. I've worked with a wide range of clients as a consultant and have seen too many companies hire employees they thought were top talent, only to watch them spend company time on personal passions and then walk out the door when their side projects were ready to launch. The ticking sound the employer thought was entrepreneurial spirit was actually just an entrepreneur doing lower quality work on the company's clock while directing his be
    • S
      Just Do It - Sidestepping the Strategy Trap and Creating a Culture of Execution
      Seattle Business Magazine Oct
      Strategy is only as good as the execution that enables it.
    • H
      How to Separate the Winners from the Spinners
      Harvard Business Review May
      Every employer can tell stories about an applicant who sounded like an A-player at the interview but ended up a dud once at work. Good candidates prepare, of course, but rehearsed interview answers can make it hard to separate the winners from the spinners. Gauging an applicant's true colors and skill level in an hour is certainly tricky. But there are ways to take interviewees out of their comfort zones, snap them off their prepared script, and encourage the kind of candor that will enable you to find the best fits.
    • A
      Work/Life “Balance” Is Dead
      American Management Association Mar
      Work/Life Balance, a term that originated to drive awareness for improved worker conditions, has morphed into a phenomenon of loosely defined objectives with questionable business value. While balance is, in the traditional sense, a good thing, the terminology has crept into the “Best Places to Work” lexicon putting an unbalanced amount of responsibility on employers and less accountability on employees. I propose to retire the term immediately and replace it with a more egalitarian, and realistic term: Work/Life Choice.
    • S
      The Culture of Now
      Seattle Business Nov
      The Culture of Now represents a societal trend, accelerated by technology, that’s disrupting all aspects of our life. Understanding this trend will help organizations better understand their employees and customers and prepare them for how to future proof their business moving forward.
    • G
      A holistic approach to M&A allows thoughtful and strategic growth
      Grant Thornton Oct
      It takes an upfront analysis of your own company as well as a comprehensive look at a target to be sure your growth strategy is aligned with what you’d gain from an acquisition. This means taking a holistic approach to every function and asset – from HR and recruitment processes, to IT functions, to supply chain and your position in the market. This approach also includes an assessment of often-undervalued assets like a customer base, culture and a brand.
    • S
      How to Develop a Mentorship Program
      Successcom Jan
    • B
      Instant MBA - Make Commitments To Your Employees, And Keep Them
      Business Insider Nov
      Commitments are good business and a serious responsibility. More and more Business 2.0 is all about the equal relationships between the employer and the employee, so those commitments apply to culture as much as anything else.
    • G
      Accelerate board diversity
      Grant Thornton Jun
    • N
      Navigating AI Governance
      NACD Online Oct
    • N
      Disrupt How the Board Functions to Avoid Being Disrupted
      NACD Directorship Magazine Oct
    This is a community-created genome.