Chad Schleicher

Coming from career in finance, even a routine meeting proved memorable for Chad when he joined SmithGroup. Rather than suits and spreadsheets, he recalls, “It was a bunch of creative, passionate people collaborating and drawing artistically on a whiteboard. I was hooked.” In business development, Chad couples his financial acumen with a bit of creative flair, too. “My entire role is to think outside the box,” he suggests. “The right conversation, presentation or partnership can make the small difference it takes to win a new project.” Building relationships  comes naturally to Chad—a product, he says, of his upbringing by parents of wildly different backgrounds, which “created in me an ability to connect with anyone, whether in a board room or on a job site.” Once active in soccer and triathlons, Chad also relates easily to athletes. “I continue to run a good amount each week,” he reports, “just at a much slower pace nowadays.”