Intro/
I recruit, develop and lead top-tier teams that drive digital transformation. I have experience in several industries: technology start-ups, e-commerce, retail, food & beverage, hospitality, automotive & insurance.
Leveraging 25 years of experience, I've founded companies and worked at Fortune 100 companies. This has given me some wonderful perspectives and a chance to work with incredible talent.
I am a hands-on technology servant leader that thrives on building upper-echelon teams of digital athletes who connect the dots between people & technology.
Currently/
We are a company of automotive experts, with offices in the US, UK, Germany and Canada. You may know us as the global leader in classic car insurance but we’ve long since moved beyond insurance to offer so much more. I am leading a team that is developing some of the most innovative experiences for automotive enthusiasts - both online and physical.
Visit Hagerty.com
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MGM Chapter/
Based in Las Vegas NV, MGM Resorts International is a $19 billion global entertainment company featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. MGM has 80,000 employees and is recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies®.
Startup vet Kelly Smith departs Starbucks, joins MGM Resorts as chief digital officer
MGM Digital Ventures is the hub of technology innovation for the company. It exists to create breakthrough, out-of-the-box guest experiences.
This was an important first step towards a sweeping transformation - a single, unified vision for the future. First step was all new, mobile-first digital frameworks.
Upon starting MGM Digital Ventures, I set out to begin the transformation of the customer experience. This included setting the vision & hiring a world-class team.
We developed all-new apps that let you check-in and unlock your door with your phone. We grew e-commerce to $820 million annually in bookings - 14% annual growth.
Starbucks Chapter/
I led the design, product management and engineering teams that developed the company's consumer-facing experiences.
I created the digital organization and outlined a plan to execute the finest retail experiences in the country. An entirely new technology organization and strategy was developed.
The result of that work is a digital payment and loyalty program that is the most pervasive of any other B2C company outside of the primary social networks in the country.
Our new team led the new, unified architecture that sits at the core of Starbucks China digital products. Includes delivery & payments.
I also helped develop and execute a wide range of strategic partnerships with the leading technology companies.
While in China, I had the opportunity to work with some of the largest technology companies (and founders like Jack Ma) in the country, rolling out digital payment & delivery capabilities.
Our teams took the initiative to develop some concepts which ultimately become the first mobile app for our new, high-end Roastery stores. China was the first such app.
The opportunities that existed for the company in 70 markets around the world led me and a small team to consider design, technology and workflows for creating mobile & web products at scale. This hadn't been considered at the company before. We set up to develop ux/ui kits that could be leveraged by any market. That design language has become the foundation for the current generation of Starbucks apps in the United States and elsewhere.
I launched an early seed-stage company in the Pacific Northwest, called Curious Office. We have incubated and invested in dozens of companies, and we participated in some notable exits to companies like these:
