Dave Smith, former head of corporate venture capital and director of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at US-based industrial glass maker Corning, has joined cosmetics producer Estée Lauder (ELC).
At ELC, Smith has taken the role of senior vice-president for new business development and reports to Andrew Ross, executive vice-president for strategy, new business development and integration. His hire follows the promotion of Shana Randhava to run new incubation ventures, a new role under Ross.
Ross said: “[Smith] brings to ELC a blend of analytics and creativity, as well as an outstanding skillset in building and managing complex relationships with key stakeholders throughout the M&A ecosystem.”
At Corning, where he was a GCV Powerlist award winner, Smith’s deals had included View, Menlo Micro, SigmaSense, Luminar, and he has taken board seats at portfolio companies X Display and Versalume.
Before joining Corning, Smith had been a senior director of mergers and acquisitions at e-commerce company eBay’s global corporate development group for a year.
Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from University’s Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
