Other names Win Employer Merrill Lynch Parents Winthrop H. Smith | Role Investment Banker Name Winthrop Smith, | |
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Born 1949 Litchfield, Connecticut Occupation Investment banking, Venture capital Education Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Deerfield Academy, Amherst College | ||
Former Merrill Lynch Executive Recalls the Final Hours
Winthrop Hiram Smith Jr. (born 1949 in Litchfield, Connecticut) is the former executive vice president of Merrill Lynch & Co. and Chairman of Merrill Lynch International, Inc. He spent twenty-eight years at Merrill Lynch beginning in 1974 after receiving an MBA from Wharton Graduate and retiring in January 2002. He is a 1971 graduate of Amherst College. He began as an investment banking associate and for the last ten years of his career was responsible for Merrill Lynch's growth outside of the United States. He was known as a charismatic leader, a strategic thinker and an excellent client relationship professional who developed strong relationships with Government leaders, corporate executives and high-net-worth individuals around the world.
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Biography
He was born in 1949 in Litchfield, Connecticut to Winthrop H. Smith.
Win Smith Jr. is now an entrepreneur and private investor, and he is Chairman and CEO of Summit Ventures NE, LLC which owns Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont. He also serves as a Director of Eaton Vance Corporation, AGF Management in Canada, the Richardson Financial Group, Richardson-GMP in Canada, the National Ski Areas Association, the Vermont Ski Areas Association and the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce. He is currently Vice Chair of the Vermont Business Roundtable. His former philanthropic duties included serving on the Boards of Deerfield Academy, the Cancer Research Institute, The Winthrop H. Smith Memorial Foundation, the New York City Ballet, The Economic Club of New York, Outward Bound USA, The Japan Society, The United Nations Association of the United States and The Americas Society. He was also a former member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Win has written a book about the history of Merrill Lynch titled, "Catching Lightning in a Bottle: How Merrill Lynch Revolutionized the Financial World." It became available on December 5, 2013, the fifth anniversary of the final Merrill Lynch shareholder meeting. Its website is www.smith-merrillhistory.com
He has married twice. His first marriage to Maggie Smith, which ended in divorce, produced four children and four grandchildren. Two of whom are hotel runners of Pitcher Inn and Winvian in Litchfield, Connecticut. He is currently married to Lili Ruane, the daughter of investment professional William J. Ruane and the sister of Boston music impresario Billy Ruane, both deceased. She has four daughters of her own.