Gary Smaby, Principal

Following a successful ten-year entrepreneurial career, Gary Smaby joined the Minneapolis-based investment banking firm of Piper Jaffray in 1982 as a vice-president and senior analyst to set up an emerging technology group. At Piper, Mr. Smaby built an international reputation as a leading Wall Street analyst in the information technology sector, encompassing a broad spectrum from high-performance workstations and supercomputers to networking and decision support systems. He was promoted to Managing Director, Technology Research in 1986. In 1988, Mr. Smaby left Piper to join the New York investment firm of Needham and Company as Managing Director. Throughout his career, he has been widely quoted in such national publications such as Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, and Business Week. He has also been a keynote speaker at major industry conferences, seminars and forums.

Smaby Group was formed in 1989 to deliver strategic advisory services to Cxx-level executives at technology market leaders like AT&T, HP, IBM, and Intel, as well as to high-profile entrepreneurs. During the 1980s, Smaby Group offered an array of specialized market intelligence and strategic advisory services designed to keep clients abreast of the emerging trends that were shaping the technology landscape. In 2000, Gary broadened the scope of Smaby Group’s core business by joining three former CEOs to create a seed-stage venture capital fund called Quatris, in partnership with the venture arm of what is now St. Paul Travelers Insurance. Mr. Smaby continues as its sole managing partner. He has served on the boards for numerous venture start-ups and is currently board chair for two Quatris portfolio companies, Algos and Iconoculture.

From 2004-09, Smaby took on a complementary role as managing director of the innovative Ventures Enterprise MBA program at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management's and continues as its VC-in-Residence. He served for five years on the external advisory board for the Deep Computing Institute at IBM TJ Watson Research Laboratory In 2009, spent three months as a Visiting Scholar at the California Institute for Information Technology and Telecommunications (CALIT2) at the University of California - San Diego (UCSD). In the fall of 2009, he became a Senior Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Technology Leadership Institute.

His non-profit trustee and advisory board activities include the Nobel Peace Prize Forum Executive Committee, the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing, the Science Museum of Minnesota (emeritus trustee and current chair of the Investment Committee), and Northern Lights, an emerging arts organization. In 2003, Gary was president of the Minnesota Venture Capital Association.

Mr. Smaby is a 1971 Cum Laude graduate from St. Olaf College.

He can be reached at gary@smaby.com.