Joshua I. Smith 

Joshua I. Smith is a nationally renowned entrepreneur and lecturer, who has been Chairman and Managing Partner of The Coaching Group since 1998. In this capacity he is the coach/senior advisor/consultant, to the CEO's of portfolio companies.  Mr. Smith frequently assumes active roles in his client companies that include serving as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Board, Board member, or Advisory Board member.   Mr. Smith also serves as Chairman of United Converting Company, LLC. United Converting is a manufacturer and distributor of nonwoven products serving consumer, industrial and medical markets. In July 2008, Mr. Smith launched Biz Talk With Josh Smith, serving as the show’s host. Biz Talk With Josh Smith is a weekly business talk show airing on the CBS Radio network, which focuses on issues impacting entrepreneurs, small, minority and women-owned businesses.  The show streams live on the Internet at www.bigtalker1580.com on Tuesday afternoons at 2:00 pm EST, and is available for listening following the broadcast at www.biztalkwithjosh.com . 

Mr. Smith serves on the board of directors of three Fortune 100 companies: Caterpillar, Inc.; FedEx Corp.; Allstate Insurance Corp., and CompCare, Inc., a publicly traded, specialized healthcare services firm, where he serves as Vice Chairman.  He also serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Advisory Board of Sodexo, Inc., and the Board of Visitors of Bowie State University, where he is also Chairman.

Previously he was Founder, Chairman and CEO of The MAXIMA Corporation, a 20-year-old consultancy that achieved a national reputation as one of the top African American owned, and fastest-growing firms in the United States.  In addition, earlier in his career, he was a high school teacher in Washington, D.C., served on the faculties of Central State University and the University of Akron (both in Ohio), was Executive Director of the American Society for Information Science (ASIS) and served in executive management capacities for Herner and Company and Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Mr. Smith was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush to serve in the following capacities: Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Minority Business Development from 1989 to 1992; the Executive Committee of the 1990 Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations; the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and the George H.W. Bush Memorial Library Board of Trustees.  He also chaired the Committee on Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the George Bush for President Campaign.  As recently as 2003, Mr. Smith chaired the special Task Force on Minority Business Reform for the State of Maryland, and subsequently served as an advisor to the Maryland Governor’s Commission on Minority Business Reform.

Throughout his impressive career Mr. Smith has volunteered his time to promote small and minority business development and forming relationships with all segments of the business community.  From 1986 to 2002 he was a member of the Maryland Stadium Authority (appointed by three different governors).  He is the recipient of the Man of the Year Award from the Anti-Defamation League of B’Nai B’Rith; served on the National Fund Raising Campaign Committee of the NAACP; and was Chairman of the National Urban Coalition.  

In recognition of his achievements and business acumen he has received over 300 awards, honors and other citations.  Including being chosen by the U.S. Department of Commerce as its National Director’s Legacy Award recipient; by the Governor of the State of Maryland as a Business Legend; inducted into the African American Hall of Fame; and recognized as the Business Leader of the Year by the Rainbow Push LaSalle Street Project (Jesse Jackson) for his countless contributions and loyalty to further the goals of equitable access to capital, inclusion and fairness in corporate business practices for people of color.

Mr. Smith's most recent honor came during a ceremony conducted in Pittsburgh on October 16, 2009, in appreciation of his demonstrated leadership role and commitment to supplier diversity development, Joshua Smith was recognized as Minority Business Enterprise Advocate of the Year by the Western Pennsylvania Minority Supplier Development Council (WPMSDC).

Mr. Smith is a Cum Laude graduate of Central State University in Wilburforce, Ohio, and did graduate work in law and business administration at the University of Akron and Central Michigan University.  Mr. Smith lives in Suburban Washington, DC with his wife, Reverend Jacqueline Jones- Smith, Pastor of Good Hope United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland.