The hire strengthens JTC’s sustainability team as part of its dedication to impact solutions for US fund, corporate, and private clients.
JTC Group has announced the hire of Ed Smith, Ph.D. as a Director in its Sustainability Services (US) team, beginning September 1st. From his home base in Atlanta, Georgia, Smith will work to broaden the scope of the company’s impact and sustainability offerings for fund, corporate, and private clients.
Dr. Smith is a thought leader in economic development policy with a proven track record in leveraging public/private partnerships to promote social impact outcomes, such as workforce development and urban infrastructure improvement. As the former Chief Opportunity Zones Officer for the City of Atlanta’s Economic Development Authority (Invest Atlanta), Dr. Smith developed and led the strategy for connecting qualified investors to entrepreneurs and real estate developers located within Atlanta’s most distressed communities. In this role, Dr. Smith helped attract public and private investment into a catalytic mixed-use project featuring a 30,000 SF medical office building and 17,000 SF of commercial retail space. He also helped secure over $1 million for the City of Atlanta from national foundations to support the Opportunity Zone initiative.
Previously, Dr. Smith served as the Deputy Director of Development and Planning at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, where he helped facilitate New York City’s first EB-5 investment. This project raised $60 million in private investment, secured $81 million in public investment, and led to the creation of thousands of jobs in and around an industrial park located in a Targeted Employment Area.
Dr. Smith’s work has been recognized in the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council: Best Practices Report to the President, and by Forbes.com as a top 20 OZ-catalyst. A former Coro Fellow, he holds degrees from the University of Delaware’s Biden School of Public Policy and Administration (Ph.D.), New School University (M.S.), and the University of Pittsburgh (B.A.).
JTC is a global financial services leader offering solutions for both institutional and private clients, including fund, corporate, banking, tax compliance, and private office services. With a team of more than 1,600 across 34 offices worldwide, JTC continues to build on its 35-year history, which includes providing services to 8 of the 10 largest global investment banks and 20% of FTSE 100 companies.
In North America, JTC provides purpose-built solutions to institutional and private clients, allowing US-based clients to expand overseas and international clients to enter US markets. By offering specialized technology-based solutions, an award-winning investor portal, and a global reach, JTC enables funds of all sizes to achieve greater efficiency, reduced operational risk, and higher investor confidence.
Dr. Smith has worked with JTC in the past on a consulting basis, strengthening its in-depth impact reporting for Opportunity Funds, and now joins on a full-time basis. JTC has been a leader in fund administration for Opportunity Zones since the program’s inception, offering innovative impact reporting methods that include tracking and quantifying social impact. These comprehensive reports have been a differentiator for Opportunity Funds and offer proof of project success, helping the initiative achieve the good it was intended to do.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Dr. Smith as part of our team,” said David Vieira, Group Head of Sustainability Services at JTC. “His expertise in impact funds across multiple asset classes, public/private partnerships, and promoting positive social outcomes through investment will help our clients achieve their commercial and sustainability goals.”
“JTC is doing truly innovative work in the impact space,” added Dr. Smith. “This is a chance to help a broad and growing client base in the US, as well as more widely through JTC’s global network.”
