Each facilitator with The Alternative Board® (TAB) is an experienced business person who has successfully completed an extensive TAB facilitator training program and participates in ongoing training sessions. Most facilitators run or have run their own businesses giving them a unique perspective to share with the board members.
The TAB facilitator guides the group discussions without dominating the meetings and encourages all members to express their views while keeping the discussion on track. They also ensure problem solving ideas are generated and the meeting does not become a gripe session.
Rusty Smith is a local TAB-certified facilitator and Strategic Business Leadership coach. He grew up in a family-run business in Alabama and moved to Houston in 1981. He has over 25 years of executive business experience leading, managing, building, and growing businesses. At Compaq and Hewlett-Packard he was a division manager responsible for revenues of over $1B and over 300 employees. His major areas of expertise include business development, marketing and general management for businesses ranging from startups to very mature operations. Rusty speaks German and has extensive international experience including foreign assignments, managing multinational teams, and managing global businesses. He also has significant merger and acquisition experience.
Rusty is an adjunct professor in the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, is the current president of the Houston Chapter of The Institute of Management Consulting, and is a regular contributor to The Houston Business Journal’s Small Business series. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Alabama and a master’s of business administration in marketing from the University of Houston.