Judy Smith

For more than 25 years, Judy Smith has counseled presidents and world leaders through global crises, advised Fortune 50 CEOs through complex challenges, and helped manage the reputations of some of the world’s highest-profile individuals. She founded Smith & Company, a strategic advisory firm considered to be one of the top crisis firms in the world, that has offices in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York and London.

In addition to her work as a communications advisor during high profile moments, Smith is a long-time counselor to some of the world’s largest and most influential companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Panera, Lowes, Sony, Kaiser, United Healthcare, and Walmart. She provides her clients with strategic advice on a variety of corporate communications issues such as mergers and acquisitions, product recalls, intellectual property litigation, corporate positioning, and other corporate, investor and public relations matters.

A former federal prosecutor, Smith worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia where she handled high-profile investigations. She also served as Deputy Press Secretary to President George H.W. Bush, during which time she worked on a host of domestic and international issues.

As a result of her wide ranging and ground-breaking career, Smith inspired the hit TV series "Scandal" and served as Co-Executive Producer of the project. Her advice and counsel have been valuable to corporate boardrooms, and she currently serves on the board of Ariel Investments and as Chair for The Intangibles, the transformation consultancy for the intangible world. She also previously served on the boards of Global Citizen, Save the Children, Washington National Cathedral and Carbon Health.