Alfred E. Smith IV, born May 24, 1951, served as Chairman of the Board of Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center.[1] In December 2006, after 35 years on Wall Street, he retired from his position as Managing Director of Bear Wagner Specialists LLC, a specialist and member firm of the New York Stock Exchange. Smith is a Senior Advisor for the Marwood Group, and also sits on the Boards of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation,[2] and Mutual of America.[3]
After attending Iona Preparatory School , Smith began his Wall Street career as an independent floor broker of the New York Stock Exchange. In 1975, he relocated to Chicago to join Mitchell Hutchins, where he served as Vice President until 1979 when he returned to New York and was named Partner of CMJ Partners. In 1997, he joined Bear Wagner as Managing Director.
Smith is the great-grandson of the late, legendary Al Smith, Governor of New York, and serves as the Director, Secretary, and Dinner Chairman for the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation,[4] as well as Master of Ceremonies at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.[5]
Smith's work on behalf of charities in New York and Connecticut is extensive. In addition to his work with the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation, he is a founding member and serves as Chairman of the Ireland Chamber of Commerce of the USA,[6] Director of the Center for Hope, former Trustee of Calvary Hospital and has served on the board of Saint Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan since 1986. Smith and other members of the Saint Vincent's board were criticized by community leaders in 2010 in connection with the closure and bankruptcy of Saint Vincent's. A lawsuit is pending in connection with the alleged mismanagement of the hospital. Smith is the Chairman of Hackers for Hope, an organization he co-founded in 1988 to raise money for cancer research and treatment. Since its first "tournament" in 1988, Hackers for Hope has donated a total of more than $8,000,000 to Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers Comprehensive Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and other organizations committed to finding a cure for and treating cancer.[7]
Over the years, Smith has received numerous honors and awards including serving as the Master of Ceremonies, 2007 inauguration of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer;[8] the featured speaker, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Westchester, 2004;[9] St. Vincent's Angelus Award Recipient 2005;[1] Honoree, United Hospital Fund 2004; Man of the Year, St. James School, 2003; Medal of Honor, Calvary Hospital, 2001; man of the Year, Ireland Chamber of Commerce of the USA, 2000; Partnership Award, Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center, 1999; Good Scout of the Year, Boy Scouts of America, 1998; Man of the Year, Iona Prep, 1996; Humanitarian Award, Pregnancy Care Center, 1995; Club of Champions Gold Medal Award, Catholic Youth Organization, 1994; Ellis Island Medal of Honor, 1994; National Brotherhood Award, National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1994; American Cancer Society's Gold Sword of Hope Award, 1993; and the Terence Cardinal Cooke Humanitarian Award, Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, 1993. Smith has served as president of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in New York, 2005–2007,[10] as a past president of Kappa Beta Phi,[11] and he is a Knight of Malta.
Smith's service and commitment to Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers was rooted in his family history and extended back 70 years when his great-grandfather was involved in St. Vincent's. In his role as Chairman, Smith's focus was on building a new state of the art hospital which would continue to tackle the healthcare needs of the New York Community. The hospital filed for bankruptcy and closed in the spring of 2010.
Smith is married to Nan Moore Smith. They have two children, Alfred E. Smith V and Catherine Smith Totero, and two grandchildren.