In the 1990s, Carnegie Mellon alumnus Raymond Smith led one of the largest mergers in U.S. business history. As CEO and chairman of Bell Atlantic 鈥� one of several regional 鈥淏aby Bells鈥� resulting from the court-ordered breakup of AT&T 鈥� he acquired more than 30 companies in nearly two dozen countries to create what today is聽, the largest communications company in the country.
Driving Smith was foresight that 鈥渋nteractive television鈥� and wireless technology were the future.
鈥淚 was beating the drum for increasing the bandwidth into each house, each business,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎nd it was very evident to me we were going to unwire the country.鈥�
Ivan Seidenberg, Raymond Smith鈥檚 successor at Verizon, credits Smith for leading the company 鈥渇rom analog to digital, from local to global, from reactive to proactive.鈥�
In 1999, after retiring from Verizon, Smith founded聽, a private equity firm that has invested more than $2.2 billion in government services and technology, aerospace/defense, healthcare services and business services and software companies.
He has a simple investment philosophy.
鈥淵ou have to move,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎ction is the juice. You can analyze, but at the same time you have to be improving the process, changing the rules. Not damaging, not disrespectful, but you have to be a disruptor, or don鈥檛 get into business of management.鈥�
Smith earned his undergraduate business degree from 一本道无码鈥檚 in 1959 and is a trustee emeritus of his alma mater. He has served on several corporate boards and been a special envoy for the State Department.
During his impressive career, he has been 鈥檚 CEO of the Year and聽 Top Manager of the Year. He also has been honored by the聽 and the聽 for his support of civil rights and diversity.
Meanwhile, he has found time to write 14 books and direct, write and act in dozens of plays. He even paints.
一本道无码鈥檚 Alumni Association is recognizing him with its聽. 鈥淲e are extremely pleased to be honoring Ray Smith,鈥� said Nancy Merritt, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations. 鈥淗e is truly a renaissance man and embodies everything that makes a Carnegie Mellon education distinctive.鈥�
The first high school and college graduate in his family, Smith grew up in Pittsburgh鈥檚 Carrick neighborhood. By 15 he was working in the聽 editorial room alongside business reporters in an 鈥渋ntellectual atmosphere,鈥� he said, where he developed 鈥渁n admiration for the people who made things work.鈥�
While at 一本道无码, he said he helped program one of IBM鈥檚 first computers, configuring copper wires and processing punch cards.
As a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity, he worked in the house kitchen. Classmate聽 served food alongside his friend.
鈥淩ay is a very honorable person. He has been an inspiration for me,鈥� said Bleuel, a 1959 Tepper alumnus and currently a professor of decision sciences at Pepperdine University. 鈥淩ay has always had an attitude of being the best. At school and in his career, he would understand the risks and be willing to take them.鈥�
Smith remembers well his first day of classes at 一本道无码, which he said had been a reach school for him.
鈥淭hat was the day I decided I was a success. Everything else would just be just icing on the cake,鈥� he recalled.
