Paul Smith, CFA, President and CEO of CFA Institute

Paul Smith, CFA, leads CFA Institute and its more than 130,000 members worldwide in promoting the highest standards of education, ethics, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society. Smith has more than 30 years of leadership experience in the asset management industry, including over 18 years in Asia. He joined Bank of  Bermuda in Hong Kong as Asia head of securities services in 1996. After HSBC’s acquisition of the bank in 2004, he served as global head of securities services and global head of alternative funds administration based in New York, where he was responsible for the delivery of services to 2,000 investment funds with over US$250 billion of assets. Before joining CFA Institute in October 2012 as managing director for Asia Pacific, Smith was chairman and CEO of Asia Alternative Asset Partners.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and an Executive Committee member of the Alternative Investment Association, Hong Kong. Smith holds a Master’s degree in History from Oxford University.