The J M Smith Corporation is governed by a board of directors. The board is composed of six individuals who are leaders in their businesses and community. The company’s chief executive officer also serves as chairman of the board of directors.
J M Smith is a privately held company, and the board of directors oversees the company’s leadership. The board and staff work together to deliver value to shareholders, employees and customers. Together, our board, leaders and employees share a commitment to integrity and transparency, as well as a devotion to serving the communities where we live and work.
Chair of the Board and CEO
Paula Harper Bethea serves as Chair of the Board and CEO for J M Smith Corporation and has been a member of the J M Smith Corporation Board since 2016. From 2013 until 2020, she was Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of South State Bank and South State Corporation. She is President of Strategic Synergies LLC and Dillon Property Holdings, LLC. She served as Senior Advisor to President Harris Pastides at the University of South Carolina for several years, and from 2009 until 2016, she was the Executive Director of the South Carolina Education Lottery. In 2001, was chosen by Speaker David Wilkins to be one of nine South Carolinians tasked with establishing the Lottery. Prior to this position, she was with Bethea, Jordan & Griffin, PA and the McNair Law Firm for 30 years as Director of External Relations and Business Development.
Mrs. Bethea served on the Board of Directors of First Financial Holdings, Inc. and First Federal of Charleston from 1996 until 2013, serving as Chairman for several years. She is the former Chair of United Way of America's Board of Governors, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the Centers of Economic Excellence and is a past President of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association. She is a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, presented to her by Governor Carroll Campbell, and holds honorary doctorate degrees from the University of South Carolina and Presbyterian College.
John A. Bick is a retired partner of the law firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where he is now Senior Counsel. He is admitted to the NY Bar. He is a corporate lawyer who focused on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, corporate governance, and federal securities laws. He was Chair of the Firm's Administration Committee (from 1995-2011) that was responsible for oversight of the Firm’s non-lawyer operations. In 2011, he was elected as Global Head of Corporate and a member of the Firm’s Management Committee, a 3-partner committee responsible for global management of the Firm. He stepped down from the Management Committee in 2019 and retired from the Firm in 2021, becoming Senior Counsel. He was also Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions from 2015-2017. He received his AB from Dartmouth College (1980) and his JD from Columbia Law School (1983). He resides in Newtown, Pennsylvania with his wife, Susan Hagoort.
Mr. Cash is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Pharmacy and is the president and CEO of the Caman Group, Inc., which specializes in private investments in real estate, long-term care facilities and pharmacies. Mr. Cash serves as Chairman of the Board of Carolina Alliance Bank, Board member of Apella Health Management, Past Chairman of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Trustee of the Spartanburg County Foundation and Chairman of the VSP Foundation. Mr. Cash is a 2012 recipient of the South Carolina Hospital Association Distinguished Hospital Trustee of the Year Award.
Charles is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Business Administration. He was a financial analyst and auditor with the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
Ed is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina. He is the past CEO of Carolina Radiology Associates, LLC of Myrtle Beach and served as Chief of Staff at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center. Ed is a past board member of First Financial Holdings and South State Bank.
Rogers is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also served as associate dean for social sciences at Penn and as president of the American Political Science Association. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society and was formerly a board member of the H. D. Smith corporation and of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.
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