Deborah Smith

Deborah K. Smith has served as a senior executive for several Fortune 500 companies.  She began her career at the Xerox Corporation where she held a number of HR and line management positions, including Vice President, Human Resources for the U.S. business, and VP, HR for World-wide Engineering and Manufacturing.  She next joined Bausch & Lomb as Senior Vice President HR and served on the Management Executive Committee and the Finance and Administrative Committee of the Company.  Ms. Smith was recruited to Merck and Company where she held the title of Senior Vice President HR, and member of the Corporate Management Committee, and then joined Coty, Inc. as Executive Vice President and member of the Corporate Management Committee.

Ms. Smith has been on the Advisory Board of the Talent Technology Corporation and a consulting partner to its Board and management.  She has provided Human Resources/Management Consulting Services and coaching expertise to companies, organizations and individuals. She has also served as a member of the Board of Chase Lincoln Bank, and on the Board of Directors or Advisory Board of numerous colleges, cultural institutions (including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Strong Museum, and the Memorial Art Gallery), and professional, state and national governmental organizations.  Since 2008, Ms. Smith has been a consulting partner with a major North American non-profit.

Ms. Smith holds a B.A. degree with Highest Distinction and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Rochester, and a Master’s Degree from Cornell University where she completed all studies toward her Ph.D.  At Cornell, she has been the Chair of the Center for Advanced HR Studies and served on Advisory Boards for the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and The Johnson School of Business, and as a consultant for the Cornell Interactive Theater Ensemble.