Sam Smith

Sam Smith leads the Global Software Practice at Russell Reynolds Associates. He advises software company boards, CEOs, founders, and investors on CEO succession, board appointments, and the recruitment and assessment of senior leaders.

Much of Sam’s work comes at moments when a company is changing—when a founder is stepping back, a new CEO is needed, the board is being reshaped, or the leadership team needs to be built for the next stage. He works with public software companies, global category leaders, founder-led businesses, and private equity-backed companies.

Recent work has included CEO succession for a public software company, a founder transition at a private equity-backed business, board renewal for a global category leader, and the buildout of a senior team for a high-growth software company.

Sam’s view is that leadership matters enormously in software. A strong product, a good market, and access to capital can create opportunity, but the quality of the leadership team often determines what a company is able to do with it. He helps clients get clear on what they need from a role, understand the available market, and evaluate leaders against the company’s strategy and stage of growth.

As head of the Global Software Practice, Sam works closely with colleagues across Russell Reynolds Associates’ CEO and board, product and engineering, go-to-market, finance, people, and operations practices. That gives him a broader view of each leadership decision—how the role fits within the team, what the business needs now, and where it is headed. It also gives clients access to the firm’s global reach, market knowledge, and experience assessing leaders across a wide range of software companies.

Before taking on his current role, Sam led Russell Reynolds Associates’ Technology Practice across the Americas for more than three years. He previously led the firm’s Product and Engineering Practice. That experience has given him a broad view of how software companies are built and led, and how leadership roles change as businesses grow, enter new markets, change ownership, or move through a transition.