Brad D. Smith
West Virginia University presented Brad D. Smith with a Presidential Honorary Doctor of Business Degree for attaining national and international preeminence in business and providing distinguished leadership and service in his field.
A Successful Venture in Silicon Valley
Brad Smith was president and chief executive officer of Intuit from 2008 through 2019 and served as executive chairman of Intuit's board of directors from 2019 to 2022. He joined Intuit in 2003 and held a series of executive positions during a five-year rise through the company where he successfully led several of its major businesses.
Building on Intuit’s strong foundation and enduring mission, Smith cultivated an agile, innovative culture and led initiatives to reimagine and reinvent Intuit to harness emerging technology and trends, improving the financial lives of customers around the world. During that time, Intuit earned a reputation as an innovative company that consistently ranked it as one of the top 100 best places to work and among the most-admired software companies each year.
Before being named CEO, Smith was senior vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Small Business Division, which included the portfolio of QuickBooks, Quicken and Payroll products. Previously he led the company’s Consumer Tax Group, which produces TurboTax, the nation’s leading consumer tax preparation software. He began his Intuit career leading the Accountant Central community, cultivating relationships and delivering services for accounting professionals.
Brad D. Smith’s Return to West Virginia
Since receiving his honorary degree in 2016, Smith has transitioned from the business world to that of philanthropy and education. Having grown up in the small city of Kenova, he always knew he would one day return to West Virginia and devote all of his energy to uplifting it as a place to dream, work and live. In October 2021, Smith was named the President of Marshall University, the 38th individual to hold the position, and officially began his term on January 1, 2022. Smith is a Marshall alum who has always shown devotion to the school, including, in 2019, the establishment of the Brad D. Smith Business Incubator, which offers space to emerging entrepreneurs in Huntington, WV. Startups accepted into the program work and learn alongside other devoted entrepreneurs and receive support to better accelerate local growth and community building.
In addition to his position at Marshall, Smith is also the co-founder of the Wing 2 Wing Foundation, which seeks to aid and empower underserved peoples and communities in West Virginia. The foundation is best known for its Ascend West Virginia program, which encourages remote workers to relocate to the Mountain State, bringing new culture and added economic prosperity to West Virginia cities. Both Wing 2 Wing and Ascend WV are also intertwined with the Brad D. Smith and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative (OEDC). The OEDC aims to utilize the state’s outdoor assets to grow its economy, inspire and educate the next generation and empower citizens to leverage West Virginia’s outdoor resources. Through various programs and initiatives, such as Ascend WV, the Brad and Alys Smith OEDC hopes to enact positive change and help the Mountain State reach its potential.
Brad D. Smith has a master’s degree in management from Aquinas College in Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Marshall University.
Connect with Brad
Keep up with Brad and the work he’s doing to uplift West Virginia by following him on LinkedIn, Twitter and Youtube.