Kristen Smithwick
Kristen Smithwick, Vice President of Global Business Development, Marketing, and Strategic Planning
After Paul and Lisa devised their breakthrough KOL identification and profiling methodology, they realized that this big idea warranted launching a new vessel, separate from Clear Point Health. The obvious choice for a captain would be a former colleague, Kristen Smithwick.
The thrill of guiding a business in open waters, be they serene or choppy, has been a huge motivating factor throughout Kristen’s career. Kristen is the first example of how Thought Leader Select took its own medicine—bringing in another leader with some overlapping skills (Paul’s penchant for strategy and marketing, Lisa’s forte of dogged research) and a host of new ones like organizational behavior (one of her favorite areas of study at Duke University), financial planning, public relations, and new business development.
Kristen likes to say that her life is full of buckets that she enjoys filling, whether it’s her multiple roles leading sales, marketing, and strategic planning at Thought Leader Select, running a successful boat retailer with her husband in Washington, NC, or freely lending her skills in organizational development to several area schools and charities.
Any observer could be forgiven for thinking this mother of three is up to her ears in work, be it paid or pro bono. Kristen would simply reply that her “cup runneth over,” and she likes it that way—thank you very much.