Foundation for the Carolinas names interim CEO to follow Marsicano
An interim leader will take the helm of the Foundation for the Carolinas following the retirement of current leader Michael Marsicano.
The Charlotte-based nonprofit gives out hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable donations each year.
At its annual luncheon Wednesday, officials announced Laura Smith, who has served as executive vice president for eight years, will be interim president and CEO when Marsicano departs.
Marsicano in January announced that he would retire in January 2023. The foundation’s governing board appointed a committee back then to lead a national search for its next president and CEO. The board had hoped to have a replacement named before Marsicano left. Foundation officials couldn’t be reached late Wednesday for an update on the search.
Under Marsicano’s guidance, the foundation grew from $245 million in assets in 1999 to nearly $4 billion today, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. The foundation was 35th-largest in the country the year he started and is now the nation’s sixth largest community foundation.
By the start of 2022, contributions to foundation funds during Marsicano’s career had surpassed $5.9 billion, including more than $750 million last year alone, according to foundation figures. Grant awards benefiting nonprofits have totaled more than $4.2 billion.
As executive vice president, Smith has overseen the foundation’s finance, communications, facilities, events and Carolina Theatre teams, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She previously worked about 2 years as the foundation’s senior vice president of institutional development.
From 2000 to 2012, she was president of Smith + Harbrecht, a project management firm specializing in large community-based projects.
And she was chief operating officer of the Arts & Science Council from 1988 to 2000.
Smith graduated from Davidson College is 1986 and obtained her MBA from Queens University of Charlotte.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 5:22 PM.