Bio

Michael Smith
President
Michael Smith Business Development, Inc.

Mike Smith is a Washington insider and beltway native who has deep political connections. He has national campaign and convention experience working for Barack Obama as a press and advance member in the key Iowa caucus state and covered this year’s DNC convention for Reuters and the Huffington Post. He also worked for a Gannett newspaper in upstate New York covering national conventions. Smith has a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. At the Denver convention, he was also involved in developing tech policy platform issues and with the small business surrogate committee. He has now worked as a volunteer in national traveling press and advance for the Obama for President campaign in Iowa, Texas and Virginia.

Most recently, Smith served as EVP and General Manager of Euro RSCG Magnet Communications in Washington DC, a top ten PR and PA firm. He was responsible for all Washington client services for ExxonMobil, Airbus, Schering Plough, Thomson Publishing, and other Fortune 500 global companies.

Smith was previously Vice President, Technology at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, responsible for clients such as Microsoft, PeopleSoft, and Verio. He was also executive vice president of White & Partner Communications, the technology-based marketing communications agency in Dulles, Virginia working with major tech companies such as Microsoft Government, Infoseek (Yellowbrix), Sybase, American Express, Pearson, Software AG and Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Smith has also served a number of high-technology clients such as Craig Newmark of craiglist on long-term retainers.

Before focusing on Agency PR, Smith also spent eight years as an association executive, directing public affairs programs on behalf of the Newspaper Association of America's marketing division during which newspapers began offering interactive products. Smith worked as public affairs director for the National Association of Manufacturers from 1987-95. He was later Executive Director of the Manufacturing Institute for NAM, where he developed Capitol Hill legislative and industry contacts.

Earlier in his career Smith worked as a marketing communications specialist for the Dow Chemical Company in product marketing. He also served at the Burson-Marsteller Public Relations Agency in Chicago. While at Burson-Marsteller, he handled the Procter & Gamble consumer products account.

Smith studied political reporting at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is a long-time member of the National Press Club and served as President of the New Media Society of Washington. He is a certified member of the American Society of Association Executives. Smith also serves as the board vice chair on the Equal Footing Foundation of the Northern Virginia Tech Council. Smith is a member of and national speaker for the Public Relations Society of America, where he was elected chairman of the Technology Communicators Forum.

Return to Webinar Details