Humble Beginnings
The CEOs and senior GovCon leaders of today weren't always sitting in the corner office. They weren't born in suits with a handbook for success and a direct path to leadership. In fact, before many of these executives came into positions of powers, they had rather humble beginnings -- no corporate family tree or unlimited access. Many had to find their way on their own with little to fall back on. This podcast will share the stories of high school part-time work, first jobs and early-career decisions, decades before the CEO appointments and the board memberships. We'll learn about the unconventional paths to success, the ones most of us can relate to.
Humble Beginnings
A Story of People, Events and Moments that Changed the Course of Gil Smith's Life
In this episode of "Humble Beginnings," we chat with Gil Smith, senior director of Government Health Program Development at Philips (and a rancher), about his upbringing as a latchkey kid in a broken home in Rhode Island. Always the "new kid," Smith attended nearly nine different schools growing up before settling in a welcoming high school while living with his grandparents in Pittsburgh.
His story is a unique one, navigating different family dynamics and ways of life, while harvesting bits and pieces of each experience, and fatherly and grandfatherly advice and guidance. Smith would enroll in university, drop out soon later and land in the Navy after an epiphany at a baseball field back in Rhode Island.
His journey to follow is filled with timely yet unexpected opportunities. He'd later find himself as a Medical Service Corps officer, a presidential appointee, deputy chief of operations at the White House, and more. His experience spans both the federal and private sector space -- but most interestingly, is the people and events that have truly changed the course of his life and career along the way. Nearly every turning point in his life involves influential moments, people or happenings -- good and bad.
"Who made a choice to change the direction that you're going in today, and how can you be that person?" Smith says.