James E. Smith

James’ role is to establish and maintain new relationships with economic developers, industrial associations, and local manufacturing, industrial, and technology companies in his region. He collaborates directly with clients managing the full lifecycle of projects and supporting them in their strategic goals.

In addition, James is the Program Manager for the Virginia Tech Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Senior Design Program. The program is designed to be the capstone, integrative experience that provides the basic skills needed to effectively plan, manage, and implement technical projects. Specifically, students work in teams to apply learned skills to real-world manufacturing opportunities, improving processes and accelerating growth.

With 38 years of industry experience, James has proven expertise in strategic business development, systems process improvement, workforce solutions, project/program management, product design, quality management, fiber optic electronics, and automation controls systems.

James earned his BS in Management and Leadership from Bluefield College and has considerable education in Manufacturing Technology with a focus in Electronics from East Carolina University. He is certified through the Siemens Technik Akademie of Berlin, Germany to teach the Siemens Mechatronics Systems Certification Program, and to assess program graduates.

Prior to joining GENEDGE, he served as Workforce Development Program Manager at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke. Outside of GENEDGE, James has membership affiliations with various regional organizations including chambers of commerce, city planning commissions, and higher education boards.