Brad D. Smith is an alum and longtime benefactor and friend of Marshall University. Smith graduated from Marshall with a BA in business administration in 1986 and, in October 2021, was unanimously chosen as the university’s 38th president. He formally stepped into the role in January 2022
A West Virginia native, Smith and his wife, Alys, who is from Ohio, have donated more than $35 million to the college. In 2015, the pair established the Brad D. and Alys Smith Family Scholarship with a $10 million donation to Marshall University. Prioritizing students from West Virginia and Ohio, the scholarship is meant to help propel students from underserved and overlooked zip codes into higher education. In 2018, the Smiths donated an additional $25 million to the Schools of Business to support future business leaders. In honor of this gift, the undergraduate and graduate Schools of Business were named the Brad D. Smith Schools of Business.
As an executive leader, Smith is perhaps best known for growing business software company Intuit into the global name it is today. Over his 11-year tenure, Smith utilized his generous heart and sharp business intellect to transform Intuit’s structure from that of a financial software company to a cloud-based platform with an impressive portfolio that contains TurboTax, QuickBooks and Mint. While positioning the company for its future success, Smith practiced a humble leadership style that led to Intuit’s consistent appearance on Best Places to Work lists across the corporate tech and finance services industry. In 2019, Smith stepped down from his position as CEO but continued to serve as executive chairman of Intuit’s board until 2022.
While much of Smith’s efforts are now focused on Marshall, he continues to lend his business expertise as the member of several notable boards. He currently serves on the Humana Inc. Board of Directors and the Audit Committee for Amazon’s board of directors.
Together with his family, Smith lives in his home state of West Virginia. There, he and his wife have established the Wing 2 Wing Foundation — named after one of the Smiths’ favorite quotes: “we are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” Through its pillar of entrepreneurship, Wing 2 Wing aims to distribute business opportunities to Appalachians — empowering local businesses and uplifting the region’s economy
