Jared Smith serves as the President and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) where he leads economic development initiatives to attract, retain, and expand businesses within key industries in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Smith is joining MCEDC in December 2025 after spending over a decade in Nevada’s economic development ecosystem. As the Director of Economic Development for the City of Henderson, he supported a community within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistica Area (MSA) of more than two million residents. During his tenure, Smith played a key role in diversifying a tourism-driven regional economy and supported the creation of more than 20,000 jobs. Prior, as Chief Operating Officer of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, he helped deliver $17.2 billion in regional economic impact – the highest in the organization’s history.
His economic development and business experience spans business attraction, retention, and expansion, as well as workforce development and long-term strategic planning. He has collaborated with companies across a wide range of industries, from established to high-growth sectors. Before moving to Nevada, Smith was the Director of Business Development at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Manager, Business Retention and Expansion at the Louisiana Economic Development, where he designed and deployed a comprehensive economic development strategy and outreach program to expand corporate businesses statewide.
Throughout his career, Smith has interfaced with elected officials on local and state levels and led various international missions. A Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), Jared Smith is an active member of the International Economic Development Council and has been recognized twice—2024 and 2022—as one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers by Consultant Connect. He holds an MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University, a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University, and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute.