Homecoming 2014 Young Alumnus - Grant Smith

While growing up in Salt Lake City, Grant Smith was much like other boys whose lives revolved around sports. He played, he watched and studied, he dreamed of a career in the arena, and when he’d grab the morning newspaper, he’d quickly pull out the sports section. Immediately after, however, he became decidedly unlike most of his peers, as his second choice for reading material was the stock reports. Yes, young Grant was interested in investing, an interest learned from his grandparents.

And so it was that his talents as an all-state linebacker and running back, as well as a track and field athlete, for the Hillcrest High Huskies earned him a scholarship to attend Dixie College following his 1999 graduation, and that Grant found himself in an introductory class in economics. This time, however, the pattern of sports before investing would end up flipping his interests and his career goals onto that second path.

Along with him on his path was high school sweetheart Catherine Jones, who awaited him as he served an LDS mission in Leeds, England, then returned to St. George for a year before they married and transferred to Southern Utah University, again with scholarships in hand, as Grant majored in finance, and Catherine in sociology. Grant played a year for Coach Gary Anderson’s Thunderbirds as a defensive back before succumbing to the lure of his new educational passion, most tellingly under the influence of captivating professors Joe Baker and Kim Craft. He represented his fellow business students as an SUUSA senator and immersed himself in his studies, tutoring others as well.

After their mutual 2005 SUU graduation, and following a summer internship with Zions Bank, the couple was off to England as Grant earned a master’s of science degree in financial economics from Oxford in what he termed a “transformational experience.” It was there that the couple’s first child was born and following that year they found themselves back in Salt Lake City. Grant worked as a financial analyst with the investments arm of Zions for two years before moving on to Ensign Peak Advisors for another two years as an equity analyst and portfolio manager.

Grant’s drive led his family to Columbia University in New York City, where he earned his master’s in business administration before joining America’s second largest privately held company, the multinational Koch Industries in Wichita, Kansas, as director of business development. After playing a critical role in that corporation’s acquisition of Molex, Inc., a leading manufacturer of electronic interconnectors, near Chicago, Grant was asked to be Molex’s vice president of business development. The Smith family relocated to Napierville, Illinois, last year, the couple’s 12th move in their 11-year marriage.

Essentially, says Grant, his occupational mission now is as it has been for years: to find value in companies that others may not see, and to capitalize on those opportunities for mutual benefit and reward. It is a logical step in his career of ever-increasing responsibilities and he credits many sources for his success, including his year as a Thunderbird football player, where it was reinforced in him the need to set high standards for himself and to commit his energies to their realization.

Although he characteristically brushes aside such assertions, Grant’s success stems largely from his core will to achieve. His genetics and family teachings instilled in him the imperative to set and

accomplish goals. He has always strived to work toward something meaningful and to progress in life. Along the way, he and his wife seek out opportunities to aid others in a variety of ways.

Catherine and Grant are the parents of Belle, 8, Gabrielle, 5, and 1-year-old McKay, and one can be sure those progeny will receive their parents’ formidable constitution to make a difference in the world.

That’s the foundation of this year’s young alumnus of the year, Grant Smith, a most worthy representative of the bold and dynamic SUU spirit.