Francis X. Smyth is a Co-Founder and Partner at Cleghorn Capital.
Prior to Cleghorn Capital, Francis served as the CEO/President of Century Engineering, Inc. in Hunt Valley, Maryland from 1996 until November 2021 when it was acquired by Kleinfelder. Francis acquired Century Engineering with 90 employees and grew the firm to over 600 employees increasing annual revenue by 10x.
Prior to 1996, Francis founded a document storage company, National Business Archives, which was acquired by Iron Mountain in 1995. As Regional Vice President, Francis assisted growth within Iron Mountain managing multiple acquisitions leading to a public stock offering in 1996.
Additionally, from 1996 to present, Francis assembled a personal real estate portfolio with more than 500,000 square feet of industrial and office space in the Mid-Atlantic. Francis also served on the board of Partners Realty Trust, a portfolio of 4,000+ apartments that sold for more than $200 million in 2003.
Francis has served on various boards of several community and charitable organizations throughout his working career. Joining the B&O Railroad Museum board in 1997, Francis has been the Chair since 2007. Other board activities include Maryland Technology and Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) (chair 2017 to 2019), Princeton Book Awards (chair 1996 to 2021), John Unitas Golden Arm Foundation, G. B. Charities, St. Paul’s School, Mount de Sales Academy, Health Care for the Homeless, Princeton Alumni Association, Partners Realty, AAA MD Advisory Board, AAA Mid-Atlantic Safety Foundation, and Valley Lighting Company.
Francis graduated from Princeton University and earned his MBA at Loyola University. He and his wife Autee live in Baltimore, Maryland and have been married for 37 years with three sons and four grandchildren.