Jeff Smith is Chartwell’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Holding accountability for corporate performance, strategic direction and profitable, sustainable growth, Jeff brings a passion for our clients, our team and for community leadership. He is extremely proud of Chartwell’s national status and reputation for achieving business improvement results, with our clients, through transformation programs. He is equally proud of the firm’s reputation as an industry role model in corporate social responsibility.

Mr. Smith has been with Chartwell since 1995. He joined the firm after playing senior management roles with IBM Canada, AT&T Canada and the Province of Ontario’s ministries of Finance and Government Services.

Throughout his career, Jeff has enjoyed a rich diversity of challenges. Starting his career with IBM Canada he was placed on an accelerated management development program culminating with responsibility for delivering information management services to marketing staff in 36 countries on behalf of IBM World Trade headquarters in New York. Joining the Ontario Public Sector to gain an appreciation for public administration, Jeff was ultimately responsible for management of the province’s multiple computing centres while concurrently playing the role of Technology Advisor to the Premier’s Office. As advisor he planned and led a number of high profile public consultation programs. Principle amongst these was the implementation of an unprecedented program to allow Ontario residents immediate access to information following the announcement of two annual provincial Budgets. The program was subsequently modified to introduce public consultation on provincial policy development.

Jeff’s leadership roles in the private, public sector and the not-for-profit sector have allowed him a unique vantage point and development opportunities. He has enjoyed success in bargaining unit labour relations and negotiation, in multi-national business planning, in media relations, in public policy development to name a few. He has developed an insight into the motivation and unique challenges of each of the three sectors and the strategies for success.   

In addition to his Chartwell leadership duties, Mr. Smith brings nearly 30 years of business management and consulting experience to his clients. He enjoys the challenges of linking enterprise strategic goals to results through practical plans, through team building and coaching to measurable results.

He is also very focused on community development and Chartwell’s leadership in corporate social responsibility. For the past ten years, Jeff has been committed to bringing non-profit, government and business leaders together for the benefit of Canada’s most disadvantaged citizens, the homeless. He is the past Board Chair of the Homes First Society, Toronto’s largest not-for-profit organization providing supportive housing for Toronto’s chronically homeless population. He was the founding Board Chair of the Homes First Foundation, incorporated to provide sustainable funding to its operational partner organization. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the 2016 Foundation, a group of Canadian CEO’s and business leaders advocating and applying global best practices for ending chronic homelessness, at the local community level.

In his own community Mr. Smith has been appointed by the Town of Whitby Council, as their community representative for the Region of Durham’s Transportation Master Plan, recommending transit and transportation infrastructure needs and strategies for the next two decades. He was also appointed as community representative for the controversial toll highway (Highway 407) Environmental Assessment Program.