Gerald B. Smith is Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Smith Graham & Co., a global investment management firm specializing in managing global Fixed Income and Equity portfolio strategies for institutional clients. He is Vice Chairman of the firm’s Investment Policy Committee and Chairs the Executive Committee. One of the oldest and largest minority-owned money management firms in the nation, Smith Graham & Co. manages nearly $6 billion in assets.

Prior to the formation of Smith Graham & Co., Gerald served as Senior Vice President and Director of Fixed-Income for Underwood Neuhaus & Company. He also served as Chairman of the Executive Committee prior to the merger of Lovett Mitchell Webb & Garrison, Inc. with Underwood Neuhaus. In addition, Gerald served as First Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing and Sales at Westcap Corporation, Investment Bankers, responsible for national sales and trading with institutional investors. With Dillon Read and Company in New York, he worked with the nation’s largest institutional investors and fund managers in the fixed-income sector, trading and advising in the area of portfolio management.

Gerald currently serves as Lead Independent Director and Deputy Chairman of Cooper Industries, a leading worldwide manufacturer of electrical tools and hardware, and as director for Charles Schwab Mutual Funds where he serves as Chairman of the Investment Oversight Committee. He also serves as director and Audit Committee Chairman for OneOK Partners, a diversified energy company and one of the largest publicly traded Master Limited Partnerships. As Chairman of the Audit Committee, he oversaw the largest MLP related party transaction valued at over $3 billion.

Gerald has previously served on the boards of Pennzoil-Quaker State, Rorento Fund, N.V., Rotterdam, Netherlands, and First Interstate Bank of Texas. He was also a founding member of the New York Futures Exchange where he worked with institutional investors in hedging their interest rate risk by using financial futures.

Gerald has a long history of giving back to the community through his service with numerous civic and charitable organizations. His current affiliations include: Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) where he serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee; Founding Chairman of the Houston Museum of African American Culture; the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors; Chair of the Texas Southern University Foundation; and, the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) Board of Directors. Gerald graduated from Texas Southern University with a BBA in Finance.

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Cyril M. Theccanat is President and Chief Investment Officer of Smith Graham & Company. He is Chairman of the firm’s Investment Policy Committee and a member of the Executive Committee. Cyril has over 21 years of experience in the investment management business. At Smith Graham, Cyril is directly responsible for the management and oversight of the investment teams that manage nearly $6 billion in global fixed income and equity portfolios for institutional clients. Prior to joining Smith Graham, Cyril was a Managing Director and Senior Fixed Income Portfolio Manager for over 13 years with U.S. Trust Company in New York. He was directly responsible for managing $2.4 billion in the Institutional Fixed Income Division. Prior to U.S. Trust, Cyril was a Vice President at Drexel Burnham Lambert where he was responsible for foreign exchange risk and interest rate risk management. Earlier in his career, Cyril was a senior consultant for 6 years with Chase Econometrics where he developed a variety of econometric-based models including multivariate regression and time-series models for clients in the financial, technology, utility and consumer goods industries.

Cyril is a speaker on investment management topics at national conferences such as the National Association of State Treasurers annual conference and IMN’s Annual Fixed Income Summit. He has also written articles for publications such as Pensions&Investments.

Cyril received his MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Cyril also serves as a pension board member for the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (METRO) Retirement Plan.

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Jamie G. House is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the firm. He has more than 21 Years of experience in the Fixed Income Markets. He is a member of the Investment Policy Committee.

Jamie joined Smith Graham in 1990. Jamie formerly served as Assistant City Controller for the City of Houston and was responsible for a debt portfolio of $3.0 billion and the issuance of debt instruments exceeding $2.5 billion. He is responsible for numerous initiatives that have kept Smith Graham at the cutting edge of client services, electronic trading and compliance systems. Under Jamie’s leadership Smith Graham became one of the first institutional investment managers to implement an Internet based system for distributing client reports.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Prairie View A&M University, where he also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from its business school. He pursued graduate studies at the University of Texas and advanced studies at the College of Financial Planning, Denver, Colorado. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner. Jamie serves as Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Houston United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and is a member of the Prairie View A&M University’s College of Business, Dean’s Advisory Board. He is a former board member of The Houston Foundation, The Lighthouse of Houston, and UNICEF.

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