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Mr. Smith is a senior vice president and the director of ESG shareowner engagement at Walden. Mr. Smith leads Walden’s ongoing shareholder engagement program to promote greater corporate leadership on ESG issues. This includes company dialogues, shareholder proposals, proxy voting, and public policy advocacy. He also contributes to research of existing and potential securities relative to ESG factors. As a leading authority on corporate responsibility and ESG investing, Mr. Smith is actively involved in representing Walden at public speaking events and in fostering long-term client relationships. He is chair of the ESG Research & Engagement Committee and a member of the Corporate Governance Committee.
Prior to joining Walden in 2000, Mr. Smith served as executive director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) for 24 years. ICCR coordinates corporate responsibility programs for 275 institutional investors committed to using shareholder advocacy to influence corporate conduct and promote social justice. Mr. Smith previously served as chair of US SIF, an industry trade group, for five years, and presently serves as chair of their Public Policy Committee.
In 2007, Mr. Smith was named as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics” by Ethisphere Institute. In 2008, he was elected as a board member of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church, one of the largest pension funds in the U.S. In 2010, Mr. Smith received the Bavaria Award for Impact at the third annual Joan Bavaria Awards for Building Sustainability into the Capital Markets. In 2011, he was named one of the most influential people in corporate governance and the boardroom by the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Mr. Smith also serves on the boards of Shared Interest, a South Africa development fund, World Neighbors, an international development organization, and is a member of the Kimberly-Clark Sustainability advisory board. Previously, he served on the Domini Social Equity Fund board for ten years. Mr. Smith also served on the Calvert New Africa Fund board and chaired the Advisory Council for the Calvert Group’s social investment funds.
Mr. Smith earned a B.A. from the University of Toronto and masters of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary.
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