The Rev. Deacon Geoffrey T. Smith has been named the Episcopal Church’s Chief Operating Officer, a member of the Presiding Bishop’s staff. The church’s Executive Council made the appointment following a joint nomination by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies.
“I’m thrilled to be joining in the work of the Episcopal Church Center,” Smith said. “As a deacon, part of my ordination charge is to ‘assist the bishop in the ministration of God’s Word,’ and I can think of no more exciting opportunity to do just that than in supporting Presiding Bishop Curry’s vision and ministry amongst us.”
“We are working to deepen our culture as a staff to really live out the loving, liberating, and life-giving way of Jesus,” Bishop Curry said. “Geof is a natural fit for where we are on this journey. He combines in his person highly skilled managerial competency and the experience of a seasoned corporate executive, with a genuinely Christ-centered spirit and the heart of a servant.”
“Geof’s extensive experience in risk management and corporate leadership is matched by his deacon’s heart,” President Jennings said. “He brings us not only critical expertise for this time of change, but also an earnest desire to make Christ known among the people with whom he works. I am delighted to welcome him to the Church Center.”
The chief operating officer is based at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City and is a full-time position. Deacon Smith will oversee a broad portfolio of responsibilities, including day-to-day operation and management of human resources, information technology, buildings and facilities, and real-estate acquisitions. He will serve as a senior member of the Presiding Bishop’s leadership team.
Smith begins his new position on January 16 and will receive email as of January 9 at [email protected].
Most recently, Smith was director of risk management for C&S Wholesale Grocers in Keene, New Hampshire.
In the Episcopal Church, he serves as a safe-church training facilitator, co-convener of the New England Deacon’s Network, and a member of the Our Kids Commission and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
He holds a master’s of business administration in finance from DePaul University in Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Connecticut. Smith was selected from an initial field of 60 candidates.
