Risk Assessment Expert helping us all.

L. Douglas (Doug) Smith graduated from KCSS (then KCCS) in 1963. After completing a

B.Sc. in Physics from McMaster University, he joined his family’s furniture manufacturing business, married KCCS alumna, Ruth Agar; and undertook studies for an MBA. Intrigued by applications of mathematical models to problems in production management and finance in his MBA program, Doug continued his graduate studies in the United States and earned a Ph.D. in Management Sciences from the University of Minnesota in 1972. He began his academic career in the College of Commerce at the University of Saskatchewan and took leave to serve on the faculty of the University of Missouri in St. Louis in 1974. The St. Louis metropolitan environment was fertile ground for Doug’s research interests in the application of rigorous analysis to managerial problems. Doug and Ruth decided to remain in St. Louis, where they raised their four children and enjoyed the cultural life of the city and the university community.

Doug has served as a visiting professor at the University of South Carolina, in the Missouri London program based at Imperial College in London, England, and as visiting professor at Braunschweig Technical University in Germany. As Professor of Management Science and Director of the UM-St. Louis Center for Business and Industrial Studies, he has served as principal investigator for many sponsored studies in corporate and governmental settings, and as a consultant to major corporations in the United States, Canada and abroad. His analytical models were used for determining appropriate reserves for credit losses in several large financial institutions in the 1990‘s. On two sabbaticals in industry, he constructed models for assessing business risk and competition in the delivery of petroleum products. He has testified before federal regulatory commissions in the U.S. and Canada on those topics. Doug has published widely in leading academic journals for the decision sciences, finance and information systems and has also served his profession as an Associate Editor for Decision Sciences, the International Journal of Revenue Management, and the International Journal of Strategic Decision Sciences.

A personal note:

The greatest gift from KCCS was my Grade 13 Chemistry lab partner, Ruth Agar, who became my partner for life. School was fun for me — especially the extracurricular activities (sports, debate team, etc.). I remember classmates with fondness and am grateful to teachers who worked earnestly to show how aspects of our world were revealed through their individual disciplines. I left high school with an appreciation of Shakespeare’s brilliant portrayal of human nature, with an interest in the physical sciences, and some thought of possibly becoming a teacher myself. I guess it was in graduate school, or maybe in a university faculty position, that I realized what a privilege it is to work with people internationally who have a passion for learning and for sharing their knowledge in creative ways. In retrospect, I would have applied myself more seriously to my studies and cultivated an interest in the arts earlier in life. It would have paid dividends for years. With two children in the U.S. and two in Canada, Ruth and I became naturalized U.S. citizens at the old St. Louis Courthouse in 2007. We appreciate the privileges of dual citizenship and return each summer to our cottage on Georgian Bay — the enduring family home.

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