Executive Bios

Led by co-founders Bob and Lee Ackerley, Chief Trading Officer Marc Barnhill and Chief Operating Officer Matthew Hartzell, Smith's senior management team is among the best in the industry, with extensive experience and a strong, balanced background.

Robert G. Ackerley, Co-Founder & Director
Leland C. Ackerley, Co-Founder & Director

Brothers Bob and Lee Ackerley - natives of New York - founded Smith & Associates in Houston, Texas in 1984. Today, Smith employs over 300 people and has offices worldwide. Smith has been named to the Inc. 500 and Top 100 Private Electronics Companies, and is consistently ranked as a top independent distributor by electronic industry publications.

Before establishing Smith & Associates, Bob received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was an engineer with Texas Eastern Corporation (1980-84). Lee attended Princeton University, then worked in sales for an electronics distributor in New York.

The Ackerleys' track record in the high tech service sector is evident not only through the growth of Smith & Associates, but also by the success of their start-up ventures. Bob and Lee were co-founders and controlling shareholders of EnterpriseWorks, an IT consulting firm that grew to over 100 consultants prior to being sold to Iconixx. Another Ackerley venture, AssembleTech, was a contract manufacturer of custom cable assemblies that employed a staff of more than 500 at locations in the US, Mexico and China when it was sold to Amphenol (NYSE: APH). ZettaWorks, the Ackerleys' IT-consulting business with offices in Texas, New York, California, and Australia, reached $16 million in annual revenues before being sold to Perficient (NASDAQ: PRFT) in late 2004.

The Ackerleys' focus on technology and their entrepreneurial spirit hasn't waivered in the twenty-five years since starting Smith. They continue to invest in and mentor numerous start-up technology companies in the fields of engineering, software development and integration, and digital media. With an eye to the future, they are also committed to supporting initiatives with global impact, including investments in sustainable energy and agriculture. Bob and Lee maintain their firm commitment to the high tech sector with the ongoing expansion of Smith & Associates and development of successful new business ventures.

In recent years, Bob and Lee passed day-to-day management to Marc Barnhill, Chief Trading Officer and Matt Hartzell, Chief Operating Officer. The Ackerley brothers work closely with Marc and Matt developing Smith’s growth plans and strategy.

Marc Barnhill, Chief Trading Officer
Marc Barnhill leads the company's sales, business development and marketing efforts world wide. Marc joined Smith & Associates as a Buyer in 1990 and has since held a number of management roles including establishing the distributor sales division in 1992 and managing the company's top sales team. He was promoted to Vice President, Trading in 1996 and to his current role in 2007. Prior to joining Smith, Marc was a manager at Grace Equipment Company (1988-89). He received his Bachelor of Arts from Francis Marion College.

Matthew Hartzell, Chief Operating Officer
Matt Hartzell leads the company’s operations and administrative functions world wide.  Matt joined Smith & Associates as General Counsel in 1998 and was named COO in 2008. Before joining Smith, Matt was a shareholder with Hirsch and Westheimer, P.C. (1985-98). He received his B.A. from St. John's College, and his J.D. from the University of Houston College of Law. Matt is also on the board of directors of Independence Bank in Houston.

Mark Bollinger, Vice President, Marketing
Mark Bollinger joined Smith & Associates in 2000 to build Smith's Business Development team and now heads marketing. Mark was formerly with the Federal Communications Commission (1993-2000), where he managed the wireless telecommunications spectrum auction program. He received his B.A. from William Jewell College and his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law.

Choon Byun, Vice President, Northeast Asia
Choon Byun joined Smith in Houston as a purchasing agent in 1997 then moved to sales prior to transferring to Hong Kong in 1998. In 2000 he relocated and opened the office in Seoul, Korea, serving as Managing Director. Choon opened the Shanghai office in 2004 and was appointed Vice President for Northeast Asia in 2005.  Choon graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a B.A. in Economics and Psychology.

Dustin Ford, Vice President, South Asia
Dustin Ford joined the Smith sales staff in Houston in 1999. In 2001, he transferred to Hong Kong to establish Smith's distributor sales division in Asia. Dustin was appointed Director of Sales for Hong Kong in 2003 and in 2005 was promoted to Vice President overseeing the South Asia Region. Dustin received his B.B.A. in Finance from Texas A&M University.

Andrew Li, Ph.D., Chief Information Officer
Andrew Li joined Smith in 2006. He is responsible for Smith's proprietary sales and procurement application, the IT network and delivering customer interface solutions. Before joining Smith, Andrew was the Senior Development Manager at EGL, Consulting Director and Enterprise Architect at General Electric, and Integration Architect at Dynegy. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Alabama and a B.S. from Beijing University.

Michael Rutledge, CPA, Chief Financial Officer
Michael Rutledge joined Smith & Associates as Chief Financial Officer in 2006. Rutledge served as senior manager at Ernst & Young, L.L.P. (1992-2005), where he worked with numerous technology companies. Rutledge also worked as Vice President, Controller, and Corporate Secretary for MicroMed Cardiovascular, Inc.; and as Corporate Controller, Financial Reporting for Core Laboratories N.V. Rutledge earned his B.B.A. from Texas A&M University.

Thuy Tran, General Counsel
Thuy Tran first joined Smith as Associate General Counsel in 2000. In 2008, She was promoted to her current role as General Counsel. Thuy received her Bachelor of Arts from University of Houston and her Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law. Prior to Smith, She was an associate at McLeod, Alexander, Powel & Apffel, P.C. in Galveston, Texas.

Sean Trinh, Vice President
Sean Trinh reports jointly to the Chief Trading Officer and Chief Operating Officer and manages special projects for the executive team. He joined Smith in 1989 as Controller and was Vice President, Information Technology (2000-2007). Sean received a B.S. in Accounting with a minor in Management Information Systems from McGill University and an MBA in Finance from Concordia University.

Kirk Wehby, Vice President, Operations
Kirk Wehby joined Smith in 2008 to head world wide operations and quality.  He was formerly Director of Operations and Supply Chain for Cardone Industries (1997-2008) where he managed startup and integration of operations in Belgium and Mexico.  Kirk received a B.S. from Oral Roberts University and M.B.A. from Westchester University.