In 1974, Winthrop H. Smith Jr. came to work for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, the company that his late father had co-led for twenty-one years. Starting in the “bullpen” as an entry-level investment banking associate, Win rose steadily, working not only in investment banking but also in marketing, human resources, finance, and sales and held management positions in both the Capital Markets Group and the Private
Client Group.

During the final decade of his twenty-seven-year career at Merrill, Mr. Smith was an Executive Vice President of Merrill Lynch & Co. and a member of the Executive Committee. As Chairman of Merrill Lynch International, he led one of Merrill Lynch & Co.'s four business units with 9,000 employees, over $2.8 billon in revenues, and client assets of $180 billion. He retired from Merrill in January 2002 because he could not agree with the future direction of the firm. In 2008 he attended the final Merrill Lynch shareholder meeting and delivered a scathing speech excoriating the Board of Directors for allowing the former CEO of destroying the culture and values that had allowed for Merrill Lynch’s success.

After leaving Merrill Lynch, Win purchased Sugarbush Resort in Warren Vermont and became its owner operator for the next 19 years. He sold it to Alterra Mountain Company in January 2020 ( not bad timing) and after helping with the transition retired in September 2020.

Born in New York City he attended the Buckley school before entering Deerfield Academy. He received a BA in Political Science at Amherst and an MBA from Wharton Graduate. Between Amherst and Wharton he served as The Ives Washburn Fellow at Amherst and also coached the undefeated soccer team. While at Amherst he was a three year starter on the soccer team and co-captained the team his senior year. He also played Rugby.

Win was a longtime director of Eaton Vance Corporation in Boston before its sales to Morgan Stanley earlier this year. He also served on the Boards of AGF Management Limited, Richardson GMP Limited in Toronto and Richardson Financial Group Limited in Winnipeg, Canada.

 As a Vermont business owner, Mr. Smith served on the boards of the Vermont Business Roundtable and the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce and was chair of the board of both. He is currently chair of The Nature Conservancy Vermont chapter. He also served as a board member of the Vermont Ski Areas Association for several years as well as the National Ski Areas Association where he chaired the Board and is currently Past Chair. Win was appointed by then Governor Jim Douglas to chair the Governor’s Commission on the Future of State Parks. Governor Shumlin appointed him to serve on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Health Care Financing.

Win was formerly on the boards of the United Nations Association of the USA, Outward Bound USA, the New York City Ballet, the Cancer Research Institute, The Japan Society, The Americas Society and the Winthrop H. Smith Memorial Foundation. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Deerfield Academy. Win was also a member of the board of The Economic Club of New York and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Win is a resident of Warren, Vermont, and also has a home with his wife, Lili Ruane, in Shelburne, Vermont and Bethlehem, Ct. He enjoys most outdoor activities but none so much as skiing. He has four children, four step-daughters, and seven grandchildren. The oldest are already passionate skiers and the youngest will soon be.

In 2013, Win Smith published his book, Catching Lightning in a Bottle -- How Merrill Lynch Revolutionized the Financial World. It is the first complete history of Merrill Lynch and traces its impact on the world of finance from the day Charlie Merrill opened his one-man shop on January 6, 1914, to the final shareholder meeting prior to its acquisition by Bank of America on December 5, 2008. The book was republished in 2014

by John Wiley and Sons, Inc