Joshua I. Smith is an Afro-American businessman and former chairperson of the Commission on Minority Business Development.

Smith, a native of Loveland, Ohio

Loveland, Ohio

Loveland is a city in Hamilton, Clermont, and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Considered part of the Greater Cincinnati area, Loveland is located near exit 52 off Interstate 275, about northeast of the Cincinnati city limits. It borders Symmes, Miami and...

, graduated from Central State University

Central State University

Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...

 in Wilberforce, Ohio

Wilberforce, Ohio

Wilberforce is a census-designated place in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,579 at the 2000 census. The community was named for the English statesman William Wilberforce, who worked for abolition of slavery and achieved the end of the slave trade in the United Kingdom and...

. He founded the computer firm Maxima Corp in 1978, following the breakup of his marriage. By 1993 the company had revenues over $41 million and had been ranked by Black Enterprise Magazine at number 33 in its list of minority businesses. In 1996 the company had expanded to operate in 14 US states, employing 800 members of staff. Smith serves as a trustee on a number of boards, and has been a strong advocate for black entrepreneurship. According to Jet magazine, Smith became the "leading spokesman for Black businessmen under the Reagan and Bush [George H] administrations". In 1989, he was appointed by President George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

 to be the chair of the Commission on Minority Business Development. Smith's recommendations for improving the lot of small businesses from minority groups were largely ignored by the President. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1998, largely the result of expensive litigation between the company and Smith's son. Smith Sr had sacked his son as vice president in 1993.

In 2003 Smith was appointed chairperson of the State of Maryland's Task Force on Minority Business Reform, advancing to serve as an advisor to the Maryland Governor's Commission on Minority Business Reform. Smith is Smith serves as chairman and managing partner of the Coaching Group. Other directorships include CardioComm Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...

, Federal Express Corporation

FedEx

FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...

 and The Allstate

Allstate

The Allstate Corporation is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993...

Corporation. Mr. Smith has been a director of Caterpillar since 1993.