About Dr. Anthony F. Smith

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Smith, Co-Founder and a Managing Director of Leadership Research Institute, is truly a life-long student of the leadership field.

As a youngster, Smith recalls wanting to make his father’s workplace, a major oil concern, a better environment for employees. “When my dad had a rough day at work,” he says, “I remember thinking, if I can just sit down with his boss and remind him of the impact that he has on others, he will be more effective as a manager to my dad and the entire crew!” He didn’t know it then, but Tony found his calling.

Today, Tony Smith is an active coach and consultant with nearly 20 years’ experience in executive development, leadership training and design, organizational change and assessment, and teambuilding.

Smith holds a B.A. and M.A. in the Behavioral Sciences and earned his Doctorate at the School of Leadership and Education Science at the University of San Diego. He was later appointed as a Post-Doctoral Fellow of social anthropology at the University of California, where he studied leadership and cultural change. Smith has also served on the teaching and research faculties of other universities including the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and the prestigious EAP Graduate School (European School of Management) at Oxford.

Smith’s research on leadership has appeared in several publications, including the best-selling books The Leader of the Future and The Organization of the Future (published by the Drucker Foundation); European Journal of Management; and the Journal of Leadership Studies.

He has served global clients in a wide range of fields, including McKinsey & Company, American Express, The National Football League, Siemens AG, the Coca-Cola Company, Deutsche Bank, International Paper, The Walt Disney Company, ESPN, Spencer Stuart, and Goldman, Sachs, and Company. He also serves on corporate boards including the V Foundation for Cancer Research (honoring basketball coaching great Jim Valvano).

Headquartered in Rancho Santa Fe, California, Leadership Research Institute is recognized as one of the leading management consulting firms specializing in Leadership Development and Assessment. Working with world-class organizations, LRI experts aid their clients in developing the leadership skills and measurement systems necessary to help employees perform to their full potential and live according to their organization’s mission and values.

Smith resides in Rancho Santa Fe, California.