Geoff Smart
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Geoff Smart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Geoff Smart is a CEO, bestselling author, and social entrepreneur whose mission is to create, communicate, and put into practice useful ideas about leadership.
As a public speaker, Geoff has delivered top audience satisfaction ratings at a wide range of corporate and industry events across the globe.
Geoff serves as Chairman & CEO of ghSMART. ghSMART is a leadership advisory firm for CEOs and investors, which Geoff founded in 1995. The firm was named one of the "world�s top firms" in Broderick�s The Art of Managing Professional Services, and is the subject of two Harvard Business School Cases titled "ghSMART & Co.: Pioneering in Professional Services."
Geoff is co-author, with his colleague Randy Street, of the New York Times bestselling book Who: The A Method for Hiring. The book is one of the bestselling and most-acclaimed books in the world on the topic of hiring leaders, which The Wall Street Journal calls "the most important aspect of business." Soundview Executive Book Summaries gave Who the "Best 30 Business Books Award." Shanghai Daily named it a "Top 5 Business Book in China." Canada's Globe and Mail named Who the "#1 Best Business and Management Book of 2009." Geoff is also co-creator of the Topgrading® philosophy of talent management.
As a social entrepreneur, Geoff is Chairman and Co-founder of SmartKids Leadership Program™, a 501c3 not-for-profit foundation that provides a customized program of 10 years of leadership mentoring and a $100,000 scholarship to top students with leadership potential from low-income communities. He is also Chairman and Founder of The Leaders Initiative™, whose mission is to elevate humanity by identifying, developing, and deploying society's greatest leaders into government. Geoff and his ghSMART colleagues also provide pro bono leadership advisory services to leaders in the fields of education, healthcare, and government.
Geoff earned a B.A. in Economics with Honors from Northwestern University, an M.A., and a Ph.D. in Psychology with emphasis in Leadership from Claremont Graduate University, where he was a student of Peter F. Drucker. He was elected to Sigma Xi, the honorary society for holders of doctoral degrees, and is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).
Randy Street
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Randy Street
Randy Street is the President of ghSMART and a Partner with the company.
Randy has served as a leadership advisor to boards, CEOs, and executive teams for over 15 years. He is also a popular keynote speaker with a dynamic and energetic style that routinely generates the highest audience satisfaction scores possible.
In collaboration with Geoff Smart, the firm’s CEO, Randy co-authored Who: The A Method for Hiring (Random House, 2008), which is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly best seller. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and other leading publications, and has appeared on leading television programs such as Fox Business News with Neil Cavuto.
Upon release, Who book became the #1 bestseller on Amazon.com out of 24 million titles, and hit every major bestseller list in the United States. Soundview Executive Book Summaries gave Who the "Best 30 Business Books Award," Shanghai Daily named it a "Top 5 Best Business Book in China," and Canada's Globe and Mail named Who the "#1 Best Business and Management Book of 2009."
Prior to joining ghSMART, Randy was the EVP of Sales & Marketing and EVP of Corporate Development & Strategy for a software firm that was named the fastest growing company in Atlanta during his tenure. Before that, Randy was a strategy consultant with Bain & Company where he led projects and advised senior executives of Global 1000 companies in a wide range of industries.
Randy earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and three children.