Tom Smith
Verified Expert in Management Consulting
Management Consulting Expert
New York, NY, United States
Toptal member since March 24, 2026
Tom is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in risk management, IT, and business operations. As a former managing director at Deloitte and a nonprofit CEO, he specializes in scaling complex operations and navigating high-stakes digital transformations. A strategic leader, Tom aligns emerging technology with corporate objectives to drive measurable organizational agility and long-term value.
Career Highlights
Certification Highlights
Expertise
- Business Operations
- Change Management
- Corporate Governance
- Digital Transformation
- Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
- Financial Oversight
- Information Technology
- Vendor Management
Work Experience
President | Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Virtual Enterprises International
- Recruited to overhaul a national organization delivering entrepreneurship and workforce readiness programs to 35,000 students annually across 22 states. Executed a comprehensive modernization strategy to enhance program delivery.
- Directed a team of educators and regional leaders delivering a multi-state entrepreneurship curriculum, enhancing program reach, consistency, and impact.
- Designed and implemented a data-driven fundraising and pipeline management system leveraging Salesforce CRM, improving transparency, forecasting accuracy, and donor engagement.
- Managed the effectiveness of a 28-member board across five committees and over 60 regional council members, aligning governance, fundraising, and program objectives.
- Deployed an AI environment to personalize student experiences and streamline the efforts of hundreds of volunteer judges. Established an AI governance framework ensuring data security and privacy, ethical use, and compliance.
- Launched and led the organization's first ERM program, identifying and prioritizing more than 30 enterprise-level risks and deploying mitigation strategies, strengthening resilience and governance.
- Restructured the team into a shared-services model to facilitate national growth. Drove transformation to ensure efficacy and responsiveness to customers.
- Served as a member of the Coalition for Youth Entrepreneurship Educators, emphasizing the importance of programs like Virtual Enterprises International with federal legislators.
Managing Director
Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Provided cyber and risk-related advisory services across industries. Oversaw a broad range of critical risk management initiatives and engagements, improving clients' responses to strategic, reputational, and technological risks.
- Directed the firm's 3rd-party risk management practice, helping clients mitigate risks across their partners, suppliers, distributors, and customer networks.
- Led multicultural teams operating in over 45 countries, analyzing customers' software usage, managing 400+ accounts, and delivering $20+ million in professional services per year. Developed custom discovery tools, procedures, and communications.
- Guided software asset management (SAM) engagements for commercial and federal clients, to establish and maintain controls over software procurement and usage, quantifying clients' software-related risks and cost-optimization options.
- Developed knowledge management, communication, standardization, and quality assurance programs, including training curricula and content, for more than 400 team members in 45 countries.
- Provided expert witness testimony in court on two occasions, pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, on software licensing and deployment, defending complex positions under cross-examination.
- Led the development of discovery tools to analyze and report IT environment configurations and usage, accelerating responses to clients and providers.
- Conducted M&A due diligence focused on financial processes and systems, IT infrastructure, and business-essential applications for private equity clients.
Project Manager
Visalign LLC
- Engineered and implemented an electronic data interchange (EDI) solution for a retail and manufacturing client.
- Analyzed ERP data to determine business priorities in preparation for Y2K. Evaluated suppliers, distributors, and producers to find vulnerabilities in the supply chain. Developed contingency plans.
- Installed and configured IT helpdesk applications.
Lieutenant
United States Navy
- Coordinated carrier airwing's assets and maneuvers while on station as E-2C+ mission commander. Led teams for squadron operations and aircraft maintenance.
- Instituted programs to ensure range and aircraft preparedness for live events and increased tracking efficiency by 300% as a range liaison officer and adversary instructor. Briefed the Secretary of the Navy on range capabilities and usage.
- Oversaw intermediate in-flight and classroom instruction of 900 students per year as a basic flight instructor.
- Assumed responsibility for several high-visibility programs, including Strike Effectiveness Assessment, an air combat training program with the Royal Saudi Air Force, as a long-range planner with the Joint Task Force.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management Information Systems (MIS)
Zicklin School of Business - New York, NY, USA
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
United States Naval Academy - Annapolis, MD, USA
Certifications
Information Technology Information Library (ITIL) – Foundation
PeopleCert
CISA: Certified Information Systems Auditor
ISACA: Information Systems IS Audit and Control Association
Skills
Finance
Fundraising, Third-party Risk
Other
Strategic Management & Analysis, Leadership, Information Technology, Airborne Early Warning, Airborne Command & Control, Microsoft 365, Change Management, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Corporate Governance, Financial Oversight, Digital Transformation, Financial Forecasting, Business Operations, Vendor Management, Systems Thinking, Training & Training Content Development, Analytics, Business Partnerships, Global Team Management, Consulting, Executive Consulting, Financial & Managerial Accounting, IT Strategy & Infrastructure, Systems Design & Development, Data Management & Analytics, Econometrics, K-12 Education, Entrepreneurship, Y2K Preparation, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), IT Service Management (ITSM), Project Management Office (PMO), Information Systems Audit and Controls, Sales Transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Board Reporting, Infrastructure, Program Development, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Performance Management, Performance Measurement, Business Process Optimization, Governance, Business Process Automation, Knowledge Management, Accounting Controls, Proposals, Business Development, Sales Pipeline Management, Discovery, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Foundational Computer Science Theory, Algorithmic Efficiency, Data Structures, Discrete Mathematics, UNIX Fundamental, Operating Systems Fundamentals, Organizational Behavior (OB), Google Workspace
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