Raymond W. Smith retired as chairman of Verizon (formerly Bell Atlantic) at the end of 1998, having served in several positions of increasing responsibility during his 40-year career. During his years as Chairman, he refashioned the company into the largest communications corporation in the country. Under his leadership, Bell Atlantic acquired NYNEX in 1997 and announced the acquisition of GTE in 1998, two of the largest transactions in business history at that time. During his tenure, he received many awards acknowledging his leadership and achievements.

In 1999, he began his second career as Chairman of Rothschild North America and also founded Arlington Capital Partners. He currently serves on the boards of Rothschild Continuation Investments, Five Arrows Capital AG, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University and George Mason University Corporate Advisory Board.