The next time you need some advice on handling credit default swaps, battling an apartment-house fire, joining a Secret Service security detail, reviewing the budget for sidewalk maintenance, or producing a Broadway show, call Brian Smith. Or text him. He never misses a text message.<\/p>\n
Smith (BSBA\u201996) is a man of impressive talents and boundless energy. He is head trader at Blue Ridge Capital<\/a>, a multibillion-dollar hedge fund; the mayor of Irvington, New York<\/a>, an affluent village 20 miles north of Manhattan; and a producer for the Broadway show Spring Awakening<\/em>, which was nominated for a 2016 Tony Award for best musical revival. Smith has also served as a volunteer firefighter, a member of the Irvington volunteer ambulance corps, and a Westchester County deputy sheriff.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m 42, but I\u2019m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n Longtime friend and coworker Michael Cairo, chief compliance officer at Blue Ridge Capital, sees Smith\u2019s diverse ambitions another way. \u201cHe\u2019s not afraid to try new things,\u201d Cairo says. \u201cNothing stops him, and I think that\u2019s pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith isn\u2019t just a guy who does many things, Cairo adds, but a guy who does many things well<\/em>. He is highly respected in his industry and in 2016 was voted hedge fund trader of the year by readers of The Trade<\/em><\/a> magazine. In 2015, Smith, a Republican, ran unopposed for his third two-year term as mayor in a heavily Democratic town. \u201cI take it as a compliment,\u201d Smith says, that Irvington\u2019s Democrats have yet to run a mayoral candidate against him.<\/p>\n The son of an Army Reserve colonel, Smith was raised to appreciate the value of public service, and his outgoing personality and knack for problem solving make him a natural leader. While juggling a demanding career, public office, and a busy family life (his children are 11 and 14) leaves him little downtime, it\u2019s apparent Smith couldn\u2019t live any other way.<\/p>\n After serving as senior class president at Irvington High School, Smith came to Boston University to study business. He chose to concentrate in accounting after a friend told him it was the best path to a job at the FBI. He eventually discovered that his nearsightedness made him ineligible for a career at the agency, but he has no regrets.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a professor who said if you have an accounting degree, you can do anything in business,\u201d Smith says. \u201cWhen you understand the numbers, a lot of the other stuff becomes easy.\u201d<\/p>\n His first job after college was as an auditor with the accounting firm Price Waterhouse<\/a>, where his notable clients included Tiger Management<\/a>, one of\u00a0the world\u2019s largest hedge funds. Soon after joining Price Waterhouse, Smith began the rigorous training he\u2019d need to become a firefighter and an emergency medical technician. \u201cIt was a way to do something completely different\u2014something physical, as well as a completely different skill set from checking a group of numbers to a different group of numbers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\nAfter joining Price Waterhouse, Smith began the rigorous training he\u2019d need to become a firefighter and an emergency medical technician. \u201cIt was a way to do something completely different\u2026 [it\u2019s] a completely different skill set from checking a group of numbers.\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n