Paul Smith

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT PAUL SMITH

I\'m a senior executive with over 30 years of experience leading at the intersection of science, innovation, and operations, from directing a global R&D centre at Xerox Corporation to serving as Chief Operating Officer of Perimeter Institute, one of the world\'s leading theoretical physics research institutes.Throughout my career I\'ve built and run complex, multi-disciplinary organizations. At Perimeter, I oversaw a large annual operating budget, oversaw securing government funding, and was responsible for a communications transformation that grew our audience significantly over 5 years. At Xerox, I directed a 100+ scientist research centre generating 150+ US patents annually, transformed it into a client-service business supporting Canadian start-ups, and served on the Senior Leadership Team reporting to the Chief Technology Officer.My work spans R&D leadership, corporate governance, government relations, fundraising, and strategic planning and served on more than a dozen boards, including Mitacs, NGen Canada, and the Chemical Institute of Canada, where I served as Chair and Interim Executive Director.I hold a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bath, an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, and am a candidate for the ICD.D designation. I\'m the inventor or co-inventor of 78 US patents and have 15 peer-reviewed publications.I\'m recognized with the Montreal Medal (Chemical Institute of Canada, 2024) and the Canada Medal (Society of the Chemical Industry, 2023) for lifetime contributions to Canada\'s science and innovation ecosystem.Open to conversations about board roles, advisory positions, and executive leadership opportunities in research, innovation, and science-adjacent organizations. University of Toronto Convocation Address (June 6)http://strmstr.com/june-6-230.html