Chuck Smith (businessman)

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Chuck Smith is an African-American businessman who is the President and CEO of AT&T West, a Fortune 500 company. Smith has a life-long interest in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).

Smith graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 1967. His childhood interest in radio led to a career with Pacific Telephone, which became AT&T West. Smith was named one of the 50 Most Important African Americans in Technology by US Black Engineer and Information Technology magazine in 2003.^[1]

Smith is committed to helping young people through Scouting and other venues. As a youth, he found a support system in Scouting, which helped him deal with his dyslexia and shyness. Smith became an Eagle Scout in 1959 and a 2005 recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. Audiences are captivated when he talks about the positive impact Scouting had on him as a youth.^[2] He is also a member of BSA's National Executive Board and the board of BSA's Mount Diablo Silverado Council. Much of that work is aimed at increasing minority involvement in Scouting.

Chuck is also a great speaker having the ability to inspire his audiences. Very recently he came to the University of San Francisco MBA Alumni Society Luncheon Series and gave a wonderful talk, covering not only the future of the Telecom industry but also business ethics and his vision for the future of the University. There was also a big surprise during the speech, when he announced his retirement for the first time in public! You can listen to the entire speech at The MBA Podcast.

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