Obituary: Roy C. Smith
Roy C. Smith, IV passed away in Naples, Fla. after a valiant, year-long battle with cancer on Nov. 15, 2019. He was 81 years old.
Mr. Smith, known as Cam to close friends and family, was born on June 13, 1938 in Norfolk, Va. to Capt. Roy C. Smith, USN and Annis Gould Smith, and grew up in Falls Church, Va., attended Severn School and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1960. While attending Annapolis, he was in the Brigade’s 20th Company and was a member of the 1957 Freshman Intercollegiate Rowing National Championship team, winning the Stewards Cup. Following graduation, he served in the Atlantic Fleet on the USS DECATUR, taking part in the Cuban Quarantine Operations in 1962, USS DAHLGREN, and as a Flag Aide. He resigned from the Navy in 1964 to attend Harvard Business School from which he graduated in 1966.
Mr. Smith started his business career with Goldman Sachs & Co. in 1966 specializing in international investment banking and corporate finance in Japan and the Far East. He rose to the position of General Partner in 1976 and was named the President of Goldman Sachs International, responsible for business development activities in Europe and the Middle East while resident in the firm’s London office from 1980-1984. Mr. Smith retired from Goldman in 1987 as the Senior International Partner.
Joining the faculty of the New York University Stern School of Business, Mr. Smith began a 30-year career as a professor of international business and entrepreneurial finance. During his distinguished tenure at Stern, Roy was the Emeritus Professor of Management Practice and the Kenneth Langone Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance for 18 years until his retirement in 2017. He was a frequent guest lecturer at business schools throughout the United States and Europe, teaching at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, IESE Business School in Barcelona, Bocconi in Milan, NYU Abu Dhabi, Kiel University, Swiss Banking School in Zurich, and IMI in Geneva.
An accomplished author, Mr. Smith wrote numerous finance books to include The Global Bankers (1989), The Wealth Creators (2001), Paper Fortunes – The Modern Wall Street (2010), along with over 100 articles and Op-Eds published discussing current events of global markets, corporate governance, and business ethics. Many of these articles and eight books were published with his long-time colleague and friend Ingo Walter of the Stern School.
An avid sailor and novice golfer, Mr. Smith maintained homes in Montclair, Naples, Fla., and Chatham, Mass. He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, the former Marianne Fowler of Alexandria, Va.; daughters Kelley Mongeau and Allison Fernandez; son Capt. Andrew Smith, USN; brother Douglas, along with 10 grandchildren.
A memorial service is being planned for early January 2020 in Naples, Fla.