Smith Names Lisa Cairns as Vice President of Learning and Development

Lisa will head the newly created Learning and Development department at Smith

Houston, TX (April 13, 2023) – Smith, a leading global distributor of semiconductors and electronic components, today announces the appointment of Dr. Lisa Cairns to the position of Vice President of Learning and Development. In this role, Lisa will lead all employee talent-development and growth initiatives across the company’s global locations, which will fall under the new Learning and Development department.

“Smith’s supply chain leadership comes from our people’s deep expertise and agility to develop unique and impactful solutions,” said Lisa. “As I step into this new position, I look forward to furthering the collaboration across Smith’s global leadership to enhance our internal talent-development programs for all employees to deepen their thought leadership through strategic market knowledge and business acumen.”

Lisa holds a PhD in linguistics from the University of Chicago and previously taught at major universities, including Texas A&M University and the University of Michigan. She was named Director of Learning and Development in 2017 and spearheaded the build and launch of the company’s e-learning platform, Smith University, that same year. Smith University has grown substantially since its release and now offers more than 1,000 courses – a majority of them proprietary, internally developed Smith content available in English, Korean, Mandarin, and Chinese. Lisa continues to architect the logic behind Smith’s innovative skills-development platform, which leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide fully customized learning opportunities for all Smith employees.

The new Learning and Development department will house Smith University courses and knowledge resources as well as other talent-development programs – including the Leadership Development Program, Impact Coaching and Mentoring, and Level Up – which offer in-person seminars and virtual live sessions to grow and develop the company’s global workforce.

“Lisa is a passionate advocate for learning, and Smith is fortunate to have her extensive experience in course design and teaching to pioneer our learning programs,” said Mark Bollinger, Chief Globalization Officer at Smith. “I congratulate Lisa on her new role and welcome the ideas and innovations I know she will bring to Smith’s new Learning and Development department.”

About Smith 

Founded in 1984, Smith sources, manages, and distributes the electronic components that go into everything from mobile phones and computers to appliances and automobiles. In 19 cities around the world, Smith’s legion of employees communicates in 50 languages and dialects and buys and sells components 24 hours per day, generating global annual sales in excess of $4.8 billion in 2022. Smith is always moving: helping manufacturers navigate market shifts; customizing supply chain solutions; testing components using cutting-edge technology. The support of Smith’s flexible Intelligent Distribution^TM model optimizes customers’ supply chains from beginning to end, including offering customized options for IT asset disposition that deliver maximum ROI, sustainability, and security. Smith’s testing and logistics hubs in Houston, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, and Singapore cover critical areas like quality management, counterfeit prevention, and environmental safety. Smith’s operations, purchasing, and sales worldwide are seamlessly integrated with the company’s global IT infrastructure, offering real-time, global inventory and logistics visibility. Smith is the leading independent distributor of electronic components and ranks number seven among all global distributors. For more information, please visit www.smithweb.com or reach out to a Smith representative any time of day at +1 713.430.3000.

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For more information, contact:
Rich Witmer
Smith, Senior Director of Marketing
+1 713.430.2141