James Smith

James Smith is a Partner and Managing Director of Demopolis Equity Partners.
He is an experienced finance and investment professional with a broad background in fundraising, capital management and operations.
Prior to Demopolis, James was a Managing Director at Diamond Hill Capital Management where he led the institutional sales team.
Previous experience includes senior roles at Ariel Investments, MFS Investment Management, PineBridge Investments, and Goldman Sachs.
James has a stellar track record in fundraising having raised over $12 Billion in institutional assets across his 25 year career in asset management.
While at MFS, he was recognized as the multi-year recipient of the “More Than Your Share” award for his asset growth results.
In addition to direct sales, James is also experienced in managing and servicing relationships with asset owners as well asset allocators.
Additionally, James formed a successful Private Equity Search Fund where he acquired and successfully operated a national elementary education enrichment business.
In 2013, he led a capital raise for a healthcare startup which successfully launched and was acquired in 3 years resulting in a 4X MOIC at exit with potential to expand to 6X with achievement of an earnout.
After completing his undergraduate studies, James gained valuable operations experience as an engineer and manager with The Procter and Gamble Company.
James holds a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, a Master of Manufacturing Engineering from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University.
He is a proud father of a son and two daughters and keeps himself busy following their basketball and volleyball games along with his wife Chelsea.
On a personal level James enjoys competing in basketball leagues and he enjoys golf and classic cars.