Philip S. Smith

Founder / CEO

Phil is the Founder and CEO of CAPTEL.  He has decades of experience in directing and managing national organizations which rely heavily on broad-based membership and donor development.  As Finance Director of the Republican National Committee (RNC) during the Reagan Administration and President George H.W. Bush’s first successful presidential campaign, Phil expanded the size of the National Party’s donor base by a multiple of ten through direct mail and telephone solicitation programs and achieved then record-breaking fundraising revenue levels.

In 1995-96, he was appointed by the Republican Senate Leadership to serve as Director of Finance for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). During his tenure, the Committee raised more net funds than at any other time during its history and achieved the largest Republican Senate majority since 1928.

Between political assignments, Phil served as Vice President of Public Affairs and a corporate officer for the Dole Food Company in Los Angeles and founded a Washington-based consulting and investment firm.

Phil received his B.A. from Centre College and completed graduate study in International Affairs at The George Washington University.  His past and present civic activities include board memberships at the American Red Cross, The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Citizens Research Foundation at the University of Southern California, White House Fellows Selection Committee and Ocean Race Chesapeake. In 2004, Smith was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to a four-year term as a Trustee of the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

Phil enjoys sailing, the arts, riding his quarter horse and volunteer work with civic and charitable organizations in Washington, DC, Maryland and Wyoming.