Jessica M. Smith

Founder/President, JMS Consulting, Inc.

Like folks in many parts of the country, I’ve experienced quite a bit of transition over the past year. Though I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen the course of the last 12 months, my core belief that things happen for a purpose—oftentimes beyond our limited perspective of the moment to understand—is more firmly ingrained than ever. I’m currently living in Atlanta, Georgia (returning to my childhood roots), and doing freelance consulting projects in the financial services sector.

My consulting practice builds on the years of experience I gained working on Wall Street, but gives me the flexibility to enjoy the things in life that I unfortunately had lost sight of in the years following college and graduate school when I thought the most important thing in life was building a career and attaining a standard of living that meant I could buy anything that I wanted. Though finding the time to enjoy the “stuff” that I’d bought, or enjoying other things in life wasn’t always possible during the hectic scramble up the corporate ladder.

That has now all changed—though the change initially wasn’t my choice—I’m now thankful for where I’ve landed. That doesn’t mean that challenges don’t abound in my new “world order” since earning a living at freelance consulting isn’t the same as knowing you’ve got a steady paycheck. And, I’d even be willing to trade some of that “flexibility” for the “stability” of a corporate job. I just wouldn’t be willing to trade my newfound realization of the “important things in life” for a greater ability to buy more stuff that will cause me to rent an even bigger storage unit so that I can keep the “stuff” that I don’t really need or want.

So that’s a brief introduction to who I am and how I got to where I am today. For greater detail on all of this, you can read “My Professional Story” and "My Personal Story” below. Hope you enjoy—and if you have any great thoughts on how to help me improve on my professional story or my personal story, you’ve got my contact details (with my iCARD) and I'm always open to brilliant ideas on how my life can be better.

My Professional Story

After graduating from the University of Colorado (that’s right a Buffalo) with a degree in finance in 1989, I decided to head to the financial capital of the world, Des Moines, Iowa. Well, maybe not the financial capital of the world, but home to a number of large insurance companies. I was hired by the Triangle Insurance Group as “special assistant” to the CFO. Of course my actual title was assistant controller, and my exposure to some of the most complex financial transactions, including the $23 billion acquisition of the Circle Insurance Group, gave me invaluable experience in analyzing and evaluating numerous financial arrangements routinely entered into by large financial institutions.

In 1995, I decided to add to that experience and enroll in business school. Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management accepted me. I was thrilled with that, since Kellogg was ranked as the 3rd best business school in the nation by US News and World Reports during my two years of attendance. I don’t think I can take full credit for the school’s high rankings during those years, but I’m willing to take a little of the credit.

After graduation in 1997, I joined the Wall Street investment bank of Warburg Lipton. New York was indeed the center of the financial universe during my 11 years there (though I did spend 3 of those years in Germany opening up WL’s Berlin office). I loved my job, though as I’ve mentioned in my introduction, there were trade-offs. Finally, in 2008 (October 18th to be exact), I took my leave of New York and headed home to Atlanta, Georgia, where friends and family welcomed me back—just as if I hadn’t been gone for the past 22 years. 

My Personal Story

Growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s as the youngest of 4 siblings in Duluth, Georgia was a pretty idyllic childhood. My father was a pastor of a small non-denominational congregation and my mom was the glue who held the church and the family together. She also taught 6th grade in the local public school.

I gravitated toward sports (probably the result of having three older brothers who also needed another “body” to round out the teams in the pick-up games of baseball, basketball and football.) One summer my family hiked the Appalachian Trail together (actually we got 2/3 of the way through the trail, since I had to be back for the start of 7th grade by the time we hit Pennsylvania).

I loved growing up in the South. How you treated one another mattered. How you acted mattered. Your community mattered. Your beliefs mattered. Having lived and traveled all over the nation and world, I have to say there is nothing like living in the South—not to mention Krispy Kreme donuts and NASCAR.

I’ve never been married. There just never seemed to be time for that. My family and friends are feverishly working to remedy that situation. I’m active in my church, Crown Point Community Church. My faith is clearly the North Star in my life. Though I certainly went through a time when I didn’t account for it much in my life (there just didn’t seem to be the time for it), I know that my mom and dad never stopped talking to God about their career-driven little girl. It finally took.

I enjoy hiking (and one day will finish the Appalachian Trail). I play in a pretty competitive squash league at my health club, I’m in a singing group called the Sweet Adelines (that’s right, barbershop harmony is what we do), and I tend to go through a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream every two days.  

Lastly, one thing you may not know about me is that I spent a summer living in a yurt on the Mongolian steppe, when I was 18 as part of a “short-term” mission trip with YWAM.

While there have been ups and downs over the years (the last 12 months in particular have seen some significant downs), I can truly say that Life is Good. And that I am more sure than ever that the Invisible Hand is truly at work ordering our lives.

If you keep watching this iPAGE, I’ll fill you in from time to time on my professional and personal journeys under the heading below: Current Events.

Current Events

Stay tuned...