Graham Smart
Former Senior VP for Thales
Department of Defense
Subject Matter Expert: International Business Development
Mr. Graham Smart is a senior level executive with extensive international business experience. He has held positions in the UK, U.S. and has extensive experience working for a French international business, in the areas of Corporate Strategy, Business Strategy, Business Development, Sales and Marketing, Organizational Development/Human Resources and Management. He is consistent in context in bringing significant growth to businesses and establishing an effective organization that achieves profitably. His business experience in defense and aerospace spans across a full range of technologies, high tech optronics and optics, security, space, transportation as well as the glass processing industry. Mr. Smart has extensive and strong experience in the geo/political factors that impact business.
Mr. Smart is an Executive Associate and Board member of a DC based Think Tank. Several studies he has carried out were for European governments, DoD and industry relating to transatlantic trade policy and regulations, as well as developing pathways to transatlantic cooperation. Study subject areas include: Export Control, Cyber, GPS/Galileo, M&A lessons to be learned and best practice, CFIUS, Unmanned Systems, R&D, Defense Policy and Budgets.
For more than a decade, Mr. Smart was the Senior VP for North America Corporate Strategy and Business Development in DC for Thales, an $18B international high-tech business headquartered in Paris. In this role, he created the strategy that grew Thales U.S. business by 600%. Part of this effort was his development of a series of major strategic partnerships with Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, ITT and DRS (now owned by Leonardo). In addition, Mr. Smart built strong relationships with employees of the DoD, DC based Think Tanks, industry players as well as members of Congress and government departments. In addition, Mr. Smart was actively involved in the creation of a Special Security Agreement (SSA) structure for the Thales Defense and Security business in the U.S. and the strategy for the Thales Rail Transportation and Space Systems.
As the VP of Strategy, Sales and Marketing at Pilkington Optronics/Thomson CSF JV, Mr. Smart transitioned the Pilkington Business into a Joint Venture structure (50/50) between Pilkington (UK) and Thomson-CSF (France). In this role he also acquired the Optronics business of Thorn EMI and operated as the CEO for the first 2 years to develop and transition the business into the business culture and consolidated the market approach between the two organizations.
Mr. Smart holds a BS in Mathematics and a MS in Applied Mathematics / Statistics from Leeds University and is a member of multiple DC Think Tanks.
