A chief executive officer (CEO, American English), managing director (MD, British English),^[1] executive director (ED, American English) for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer (executive) or administrator in charge of total management of an organization. An individual appointed as a CEO of a corporation, company, organization, or agency typically reports to the board of directors.

Responsibilities[link]

The responsibilities of an organization's CEO (US) or MD (UK) are set by the organization's board of directors or other authority, depending on the organization's legal structure. They can be far-reaching or quite limited and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority.

Typically, the CEO/MD has responsibilities as a communicator, decision maker, leader, and manager. The communicator role can involve the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as the organization's management and employees; the decision-making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. As a leader, the CEO/MD advises the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization. As a manager, the CEO/MD presides over the organization's day-to-day, month-to-month, and year-to-year operations.^[2]

International use[link]

In some European Union countries, there are two separate boards, one executive board for the day-to-day business and one supervisory board for control purposes (selected by the shareholders). In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the chairman presides over the supervisory board, and these two roles will always be held by different people. This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board. This allows for clear lines of authority. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person. In the United States, the board of directors (elected by the shareholders) is often equivalent to the supervisory board, while the executive board may often be known as the executive committee (the division/subsidiary heads and C-level officers that report directly to the CEO).

In other parts of the world, such as Asia, it is possible to have two or three CEOs in charge of one corporation. In the UK, many charities and government agencies are headed by a chief executive who answers to a board of trustees or board of directors. In the UK, similar to a sizable percentage of public companies in the US, the chairman of the board in public companies is more senior than the chief executive (who is usually known as the managing director).

The following presents an alphabetical list of some international common terms for the CEO position:

• Albanian: Administrator i Përgjithshëm
• Arabic: الرئيس التنفيذي‎ (eg)Al-Ra'ees Al-Tanfizi / (sa)Al-Ra'ees Al-Tanfithee (Chief Executive)
• Australia: general manager (GM) (or also managing director (MD), but only when the executive officeholder is also a member of the board of directors)
• Belarusian: Генеральны дырэктар
• Bengali: মহাপরিচালক/ব্যবস্থাপনা পরিচালক/প্রধান নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা (Director General/GM/MD/CEO)
• Bosnian: Generalni direktor / Izvršni direktor
• Bulgarian: Генерален директор / Изпълнителен директор Generalen direktor/Izpalnitelen direktor
• Chinese: 首席执行官 / 行政總裁 Shǒuxí zhíxíng guān / xíngzhèng zǒngcái (Chief Executive Officer)
• Croatian: Izvršni direktor
• Czech: Generální ředitel/Výkonný ředitel
• Danish: Administrerende Direktør (administrating director) (Adm.Dir.)
• Dutch: Algemeen Directeur (general manager)
• Estonian: Tegevdirektor (executive director)
• Finnish: Toimitusjohtaja (executive director) (TJ)
• French: Président-directeur général (chairman & chief executive) (PDG)
• Galician: Director Executivo / Director xeral
• German: Geschäftsführer (GmbH) or German: Vorstand (AG)
• Georgian: გენერალური დირექტორი (General director)
• Greek: Διευθύνων Σύμβουλος Diefthinon Symvoulos (Managing Director)
• Hebrew: מנכ"ל/מנהל כללי‎ Mankal/Menahel Klali (DG/Director General)
• Hungarian: ügyvezető igazgató
• Icelandic: Forstjóri / Framkvæmdastjóri
• Hindi: मुख्य कार्यकारी अधिकारी
• India: CEO or managing director (MD)
• Indonesian: Presiden Direktur (Presdir) or, increasingly less common, Direktur Utama (Dirut) Direktur-Direksi (term based on Law nr. 40 / 2007)
• Irish: Príomhoifigeach Feidhmiúcháin (POF)
• Italian: Amministratore Delegato (delegated administrator) (AD)
• Japanese: 最高経営責任者 Saikō-keiei-sekinin-sha (Chief Executive Officer)
• Korean: 최고경영책임자 choe-go-gyeong-young-chek-ime-ja (Chief Executive Officer)
• Kurdish: Serokê/a Pêkanîna Civatê
• Latvian: Valdes priekšsēdētājs (chairman of the board)
• Lithuanian: Generalinis direktorius (general director)
• Macedonian: Извршен директор (izvrshen direktor - executive director) or also Macedonian: Генерален директор (generalen direktor - general director)
• Maltese: Kap eżekuttiv (Chief Executive)
• Mongolian: Ерөнхий захирал, Ерөнхийлөгч, Гүйцэтгэх захирал
• Norwegian: Administrerende Direktør (administrating director) (adm. dir.)
• Persian: مدیر عامل‎ Modir Aamel (Chief Executive)
• Pakistan|چیف ایگزیکٹو آفیسر}} Chif Igzikutu Afisr (Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director)
• Polish: Dyrektor Generalny (general director)
• Portuguese: Diretor executivo / Diretor-geral / Presidente / Administrador-delegado
• Romanian: Președintele consiliului de administrație (PCA)
• Russian: Генеральный директор, Главный исполнительный директор (generalnyi direktor – general director)
• Serbian: Генерални директор / Извршни директор (управник)
• Sinhala: ප්‍රධාන විධායක නිලධාරී / කළමනාකාර අධ්‍යක්ෂක (CEO / MD)
• Slovak: Generálny riaditeľ
• Slovene: Generalni direktor / Izvršni direktor
• Spanish: director ejecutivo, director general, gerente general o consejero delegado (executive director)
• Somali: Maamule Guud / Agaasime (CEO / MG)
• Swedish: verkställande direktör (VD)
• Tamil: தலைமை நிறைவேற்று அலுவலர் / முகாமைத்துவ இயக்குநர் (CEO / MD)
• Telugu: ముఖ్య కార్యనిర్వాహక అధికారి / నిర్వాహకుడు (CEO / MD)
• Thai: ประธานบริหาร / กรรมการผู้จัดการ (CEO / MD)
• Tagalog: Punong Tagapagpaganap (CEO / PT)
• Turkish: Genel Müdür, Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı
• Ukrainian: Головний виконавчий директор (Holovnyi vykonavchyi dyrektor - Head executive director), also Генеральний директор (Heneral'nyi dyrektor – General director)
• Urdu: چیف ایگزیکٹو آفیسر Chif Igzikutu Afisr (Chief Executive Officer)
• Vietnamese: Giám đốc điều hành
• Malay: Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif, Pengarah Urusan, Pengarah Eksekutif
• Swahili: Meneja Mkuu

In the United States, and in business, the executive officers are usually the top officers of a corporation, the chief executive officer (CEO) being the best-known type. The definition varies; for instance, the California Corporate Disclosure Act defines "Executive Officers" as the five most highly compensated officers not also sitting on the board of directors. In the case of a sole proprietorship, an executive officer is the sole proprietor. In the case of a partnership, an executive officer is a managing partner, senior partner, or administrative partner. In the case of a limited liability company, an executive officer is any member, manager, or officer.

Related positions[link]

Typically, a CEO has several subordinate executives, each of whom has specific functional responsibilities.

Common associates include a chief business development officer (CBDO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), chief marketing officer (CMO), chief information officer (CIO), chief communications officer (CCO), chief legal officer (CLO), chief technology officer (CTO), chief risk officer (CRO), chief creative officer (CCO), chief compliance officer (CCO), chief audit executive (CAE), chief diversity officer (CDO), or chief human resources officer (CHRO).

Hospitals and healthcare organizations also often include a chief medical officer (CMO), a chief nursing officer (CNO), and a chief medical informatics officer (CMIO).

In the United Kingdom the term 'director' is used instead of 'chief officer'. Associates include the audit executive, business development director, chief executive, compliance director, creative director, director of communications, diversity director, financial director, human resources director, information technology director, legal affairs director, managing director (MD), marketing director, operations director and technical director.

See also[link]

• CEO succession
• Executive officer
• List of CEO books
• List of chief executive officers
• O*NET

• United States Department of Labor

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chief executive officers

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Top Executives: Description and Outlook
• 2008–2010 Study: CEOs Who Fired Most Workers Earned Highest Pay – video report by Democracy Now!

Rajan Anandan is currently the Head of Google India. He was earlier the Managing Director of Microsoft's Sales Marketing and Services business in India. He took this up role in August 2008.^[1] Before this role, he used to be the Managing Director of Dell India.^[2] He led Dell India from 2006 to 2008. Prior to Dell and Microsoft, Rajan worked for McKinsey & Company in USA, where he was a partner.^[3] Rajan is of Sri Lankan Tamil & Sinhalese descent^{[citation needed]}, and is the son of former Guinness World Records holder V.S. Kumar Anandan. Rajan is also one of the investors and advisers at Capillary Technologies^[4]. He is also on the Advisory Board of InnovizeTech^[5]

References[link]

Christine Lagarde
11th Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 July 2011
Deputy	John Lipsky David Lipton
Preceded by	Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Minister of Finance
In office 19 June 2007 – 29 June 2011
Prime Minister	François Fillon
Preceded by	Jean-Louis Borloo
Succeeded by	François Baroin
Minister of Agriculture
In office 18 May 2007 – 18 June 2007
Prime Minister	François Fillon
Preceded by	Dominique Bussereau
Succeeded by	Michel Barnier
Minister of Commerce and Industry
In office 2 June 2005 – 15 May 2007
Prime Minister	Dominique de Villepin
Preceded by	Christian Jacob
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette (1956-01-01) 1 January 1956 (age 56) Paris, France
Political party	Union for a Popular Movement
Alma mater	Paris West University Nanterre La Défense Institute of Political Studies, Aix-en-Provence
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature	Christine Lagarde's signature

Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde (née Lallouette; born 1 January 1956)^[1] is a French lawyer who has been the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund since 5 July 2011. Previously, she held various ministerial posts in the French government: she was Minister of Economic Affairs, Finances and Industry and before that Minister of Agriculture and Fishing and Minister of Trade in the government of Dominique de Villepin. Lagarde was the first woman ever to become Minister of Economic Affairs of a G8 economy, and is the first woman to ever head the IMF.^[2]

A noted antitrust and labour lawyer, Lagarde made history by becoming the first female chair of the international law firm Baker & McKenzie. On 16 November 2009, the Financial Times ranked her the best Minister of Finance in the Eurozone.^[3]

On 28 June 2011, she was named as the next MD of the International Monetary Fund for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011,^[2][4][5] replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Her appointment is the 11th consecutive appointment of a European as head the IMF.^[6] In 2011, Lagarde was ranked the 9th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Lagarde was born in Paris into a family of academics. Her father Robert Lallouette was a Professor of English at the Faculty of Rouen; her mother Nicole worked as a teacher.^[8] As a teenager, Lagarde was a member of the French national synchronised swimming team.^[9] After graduation in 1974 at the Lycée François 1er in Le Havre, she went on an AFS scholarship to the Holton-Arms School, a girls' school in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.^[10] Then she graduated from law school at Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, in Greater Paris, France, and obtained a Master's degree in Political Science from the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (Sciences Po Aix).^[11] Since 2010, she has presided over the Institute's board of directors.^[12]

Lagarde worked as an intern in 1974 at the United States Capitol, as Representative William Cohen's (R, ME) congressional assistant,^[13] in particular working in communications with Cohen's French-speaking constituents during the Judiciary Committee Watergate hearings.^[10]

Lagarde is divorced and has two sons, Pierre-Henri Lagarde (born 1986) and Thomas Lagarde (born 1988).^[14] Since 2006, her partner has been the entrepreneur Xavier Giocanti from Marseille. She is a vegetarian and never drinks alcohol.^[15][16][17] Her hobbies are scuba diving, swimming and gardening.

The fashion magazine Vogue profiled Lagarde in September 2011.^[18]

Professional career[link]

Lagarde joined Baker & McKenzie, a large Chicago-based international law firm, in 1981. She handled major antitrust and labor cases, was made partner after six years and was named head of the firm in Western Europe. She joined the executive committee in 1995 and was elected the company's first ever female Chairman in October 1999.^[19][20][21] In 2004, Lagarde became president of the global strategic committee.^[22]

Her personal interest in European affairs led her to help found the European Law Centre, an office of Baker & McKenzie in Brussels exclusively dedicated to the practice of European Union law.

Ministerial career[link]

Lagarde at a UMP rally, 18 February 2011

As France's Trade Minister between 2005 and May 2007, Lagarde prioritized opening new markets for the country's products, focusing on the technology sector. On 18 May 2007, she was moved to the Ministry of Agriculture as part of the government of François Fillon.^[23] The following month she joined François Fillon's cabinet in the Ministry of Economic Affairs,^[24] Industry and Employment to become the first woman to ever be in charge of economic policy in France.

On 3 August 2011, a French court ordered an investigation into Christine Lagarde's role in a €285 million arbitration deal in favour of Bernard Tapie.^[25]

International Monetary Fund[link]

Administrative record[link]

In May 2011, Lagarde was mentioned as a possible successor of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. Her candidacy received the support of the British, Indian, United States, Russian, Chinese and German governments.^{[26][27][28][29][30]}

On 25 May 2011, Lagarde officially announced her candidacy as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn upon his resignation.^[31]

On 28 June 2011, the International Monetary Fund board elected Lagarde as its next managing director and chairman for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011.^[2][4][5] Agustín Carstens was also considered for the post. The IMF's executive board praised both candidates as well-qualified, but decided on Lagarde by consensus.^[2] Carstens would have been the first non-European to be elected as the head of the IMF. His candidacy was supported by the Latin American governments, as well as Spain, Canada and Australia.^[26]

Her appointment comes amidst the intensification of the European sovereign debt crisis especially in Greece, with fears looming of loan defaults. The United States in particular supported her expeditious appointment in light of the fragility of Europe's economic situation.^[32]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that Lagarde's "exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership for this indispensable institution at a critical time for the global economy."^[5] Nicolas Sarkozy referred to Lagarde's appointment as "a victory for France." Oxfam, a charity working in developing nations, called the choice "farcical" and argued that what it saw as the lack of transparency in the appointment process hurt the IMF's credibility.^[4]

Viewpoints[link]

Alistair Darling (left) with Lagarde and Timothy Geithner (right) in 2009.

In July 2010, Lagarde told the PBS NewsHour that the IMF lending project was "a very massive plan, totally unexpected, totally counter-treaty, because it wasn't scheduled in the treaty that we should do a bailout program, as we did." She also said, "we had essentially a trillion dollars on the table to confront any market attack that would target any country, whether it's Greece, Spain, Portugal, or anybody within the eurozone." With respect to the French economy, she stated that besides short-term stimulus efforts: "we must, very decisively, cut our deficit and reduce our debt."^[33]

In public remarks made right after her appointment, Lagarde stated that both the IMF and EU require Greek austerity measures as a prerequisite for further aid. She said, "If I have one message tonight about Greece, it is to call on the Greek political opposition to support the party that is currently in power in a spirit of national unity."^[5] Lagarde's view of her predecessor is that: "The IMF has taken up the challenges of the crisis thanks to the actions of the director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn and to his team as well."^[29] On 25 December 2011, Lagarde argued that the world economy was at risk and urged Europeans to unify in terms of the debt crisis facing the continent.^[34]

Questioned about her economic philosophy, Lagarde has described herself as "with Adam Smith—that is, liberal."^[18]

"Payback" controversy[link]

In an interview with The Guardian in May 2012, Lagarde was asked about crisis-stricken Greece—where the suicide rate has increased by 40% and large sections of Athens are reduced to using food kitchens—and other struggling eurozone countries, and replied:

"Do you know what? As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time. All these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax."

Even more than she thinks about all those now struggling to survive without jobs or public services? "I think of them equally. And I think they should also help themselves collectively."

How? "By all paying their tax. Yeah."

It sounds as if she's essentially saying to the Greeks and others in Europe, you've had a nice time and now it's payback time. "That's right." She nods calmly. "Yeah."^[35][36]

Her comments provoked uproar: Evangelos Venizelos said she had "insulted the Greek people", while Alexis Tsipras declared coolly: "We don't need her compassion."^[37][38] In an effort to quell the negative response, the next day Lagarde updated her Facebook page with: "As I have said many times before, I am very sympathetic to the Greek people and the challenges they are facing."^[39] Within 24 hours, over 10,000 comments had been left in response, many of them obscene.^[37] To her accusations that not enough Greeks paid their taxes, Professor Emeritus John Weeks of the University of London retorted: "The moral weight of Christine Lagarde's matronising of the Greeks to pay their taxes is not strengthened by the fact that, as director of the IMF, she is in receipt of a tax-free annual salary of $468,000 (£298,000, plus perks)."^[40] In making general "payback" comments about peripheral eurozone countries having "had a nice time", Lagarde appeared to be unaware that, for example, Spain had actually been running budget surpluses for three consecutive years going into the financial crisis, while Ireland had been running surpluses for five consecutive years going in, as her own organisation's data shows.^[41][42] In 2007, the EU Council even gave Spain three gold stars and a commendation, saying its "budgetary strategy provides a good example of fiscal policies".^[43] Lagarde did not appear to understand that the factor that precipitated the financial crisis in Spain, Ireland, and other countries was the collapse of housing bubbles, not reckless government spending.^{[44][45][46][47]} The point was emphasised by The Economist the week after her remarks were published:

This fiscal focus gets things exactly backwards. Spain's poor public finances, unlike those of Greece, are a symptom rather than the cause of the country's economic woes. Before the crisis Spain was well within the euro zone's fiscal rules. Even now its government debt, at around 70% of GDP, is lower than Germany's. As in Ireland, the origins of Spain's debt problems are private, not public.^[48]

Media[link]

She was interviewed in the documentary film Inside Job (2010), which later won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Lagarde was portrayed by actress Laila Robins in the 2011 HBO movie Too Big to Fail, which was based on the popular book of the same name by New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. Lagarde, acting as the French Finance Minister, has a scene criticizing her American counterpart Hank Paulson.^[49]

Honours[link]

• - Chevalier (13), promoted Officer, Order of Legion d'Honneur (6)
• - Commander, Order of Mérite agricole

See also[link]

• Baker & McKenzie

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Christine Lagarde

• imfboss.org Tracking the fight to head the Fund
• Column archives at Project Syndicate
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Christine Lagarde on Charlie Rose
• Christine Lagarde at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Christine Lagarde in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Christine Lagarde collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Christine Lagarde collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Christine Lagarde collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Christine Lagarde collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Christine Lagarde at the Notable Names Database

v t e First Fillon Cabinet François Fillon Alain Juppé Bernard Kouchner Hervé Morin Michèle Alliot-Marie Brice Hortefeux Rachida Dati Jean-Louis Borloo Éric Wœrth Xavier Bertrand Christine Boutin Christine Lagarde Xavier Darcos Valérie Pécresse Christine Albanel Roselyne Bachelot

v t e Second Fillon Cabinet François Fillon François Baroin Alain Juppé Jean-Louis Borloo Michèle Alliot-Marie Bernard Kouchner Hervé Morin Brice Hortefeux Xavier Darcos Christine Lagarde Éric Wœrth Éric Besson Luc Chatel Bruno Le Maire Valérie Pécresse Frédéric Mitterrand Roselyne Bachelot Michel Mercier

Adrian Smith
Adrian Smith performing with Iron Maiden at Ottawa Bluesfest in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Adrian Frederick Smith[1]
Born	(1957-02-27) 27 February 1957 (age 55) Hackney, east London, England
Genres	Heavy metal, progressive rock, hard rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Years active	1975–present
Labels	EMI
Associated acts	Urchin, Iron Maiden, The Entire Population of Hackney, ASAP, The Untouchables, Psycho Motel, Bruce Dickinson, Kai Hansen, Michael Kiske, Hear 'n Aid, Primal Rock Rebellion
Website	http://www.ironmaiden.com
Notable instruments
Jackson Adrian Smith San Dimas Lado Earth Gibson Les Paul Gibson SG Fender Stratocaster

Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English musician, best known as one of the three guitarists in the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden, for whom he regularly writes and, along with bassist Steve Harris, performs backing vocals on some songs.

Growing up in Camden, London, Smith gained an interest in rock music at 15 and formed a friendship with future Iron Maiden guitarist Dave Murray, who would inspire Smith to take up the guitar himself. Upon leaving school at 16, he formed his own band, Urchin, which he would lead until their demise in 1980. Having already been offered a position as their second guitarist the previous year, Smith joined Iron Maiden in November 1980, replacing Dennis Stratton. Following a short-lived solo project entitled A.S.A.P, he left Iron Maiden in 1990, forming his own group, Psycho Motel, before joining Bruce Dickinson's solo outfit in 1997. Along with Dickinson, he returned to Iron Maiden in 1999, after which the band gained renewed success, and recently formed the side project, Primal Rock Rebellion.

Biography[link]

Early years and Urchin: 1957—1980[link]

Born in Hackney,^[1] Smith grew up in Clapton^[2] where he purchased his first record, Deep Purple's Machine Head, while still attending school at 15. This led him to befriend Dave Murray,^[3] with whom he would form a band called Stone Free, featuring Murray on guitar, Smith on vocals and their friend, Dave McCloughlin, playing the bongos.^[4] After seeing the attention Murray got from girls,^[3] Smith was inspired to take up the guitar himself, starting with an old Spanish guitar, once owned by his brother, before purchasing an old one of Murray's for £5.^[5] His early influences included Johnny Winter and Pat Travers, which he claims made him a "melodic player" rather than a "speed merchant or a shredder" as he "was inspired by blues rock rather than metal."^[6]

Leaving school after completing his O-levels, Smith formed his own band, Evil Ways, including Dave Murray on guitar, which was later renamed Urchin.^[7] In this outfit, Smith began writing his own material, including "22 Acacia Avenue", which would later be included on Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast (1982).^[7] At this point, Murray left the band to join Iron Maiden and Urchin signed with DJM Records and released a single, "Black leather Fantasy", in 1977.^[8] Shortly afterwards, Murray joined Urchin on their next single, "She's a Roller", as he had been sacked from Iron Maiden after a row with then vocalist Dennis Wilcock, although he was reinstated six months later.^[8] Smith was also offered a place in Iron Maiden while they were in the process of signing with EMI in 1979, but turned them down to continue with his own band, a decision he would later regret as Urchin split up in 1980.^[9]

First tenure in Iron Maiden: 1980—1989[link]

Without a band, Smith was left "wondering what to do next," before he "literally bumped into Steve [Harris] and Dave," who asked if he might want to reconsider joining.^[9] After a successful audition,^[10] Smith debuted with the band on a German TV show, before setting out on a UK tour and recording the Killers album, released in 1981.^[11] Smith's first song-writing contributions appeared on The Number of the Beast, co-penning "Gangland" and "The Prisoner", as well as the previously mentioned "22 Acacia Avenue",^[12] after which he began co-writing many songs with singer, Bruce Dickinson, on the following Piece of Mind album.^[13][14]

Smith and Dave Murray combined playing dual lead guitars, creating what Allmusic calls "the most formidable twin-guitar attack in heavy metal, outside of Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing."^[15] Smith, along with Steve Harris, also provides the band's backing vocals, although he sang lead on "Reach Out", the B-Side to the "Wasted Years" single, featuring Bruce Dickinson on backing vocals.^[16] Originally written by guitarist Dave "Bucket" Colwell, whom he had worked with on The Entire Population of Hackney project, Smith would later sing "Reach Out" again for Colwell's solo album, Guitars, Beers & Tears, released in 2010.^[17][18]

Departure from Iron Maiden and other projects: 1989—1999[link]

While Iron Maiden were taking some time off in 1989, Smith released a solo LP with the band ASAP (Adrian Smith And Project),^[19] entitled Silver and Gold,^[20] which was a commercial failure in spite of a promotional club tour.^[21] Unhappy with the direction the band were taking for their next release, No Prayer for the Dying,^[22] Smith agreed to leave Iron Maiden in 1990 during the album's pre-production stages,^[23] and was replaced by Janick Gers.^[24] After releasing the experimental Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son albums in 1986 and 1988 respectively, Steve Harris had decided that the band should go for a "stripped-down," "street level" approach, which Smith thought was a "step backward."^[22] No Prayer for the Dying contained one last Smith song, co-penned with Bruce Dickinson, entitled "Hooks in You".^[25]

After leaving, Smith started a family with his Canadian wife, Nathalie, and would not play guitar again until he joined Iron Maiden onstage at Donington Park in 1992 to perform "Running Free".^[26] In the same year, after hearing King's X for the first time, he decided that he would "love to play in a band like that" and formed The Untouchables,^[27] which later became Psycho Motel.^[26] The band recorded two albums, State of Mind in 1996 and Welcome to the World in 1997, during which they supported Iron Maiden on the British leg of The X Factour.^[26] The project was put on hold, however, when Smith joined Bruce Dickinson for his 1997 album, Accident of Birth,^[26] after which he became a full-time member of Dickinson's solo outfit, embarking on two world tours and contributing to one further studio release, 1998's The Chemical Wedding.^[28]

Return to Iron Maiden: 1999—present[link]

Smith performing with Iron Maiden during the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour.

In 1999, Smith re-joined Iron Maiden, along with vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who commented, "When he left the band in 1990, I think everybody was a bit surprised at how much we missed him and certainly, I don’t think anybody had realized how much the fans would miss him - big time. I wouldn’t have rejoined Iron Maiden if he wasn’t in the band. I just don’t think it would have been complete without Adrian, and now, it’s great having three guitarists."^[29] The band embarked on a short tour,^[30] after which the new line-up's first album, Brave New World, was recorded with producer Kevin Shirley and released in 2000.^[31]

He remains in Iron Maiden to this day, with whom he has released three further studio albums, 2003's Dance of Death, 2006's A Matter of Life and Death and 2010's The Final Frontier. Smith claims that his guitar playing improved after leaving the band in 1990, in particular while working with Roy Z, from whom he "learned a lot about picking" and became "more disciplined."^[6] Since returning to Iron Maiden, he has also continued experimenting with tuning (which he began doing in Psycho Motel), stating that he has used drop D tuning in live renditions of "Run to the Hills", "Wrathchild", "The Trooper" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name".^[6]

Smith performs lead guitar, bass and backing vocals on the album Awoken Broken by his collaborative studio project with Mikee Goodman of SikTh called Primal Rock Rebellion. The title was released on 27 February 2012, while one song, "I See Lights", was released as a free download on the project's official website on 2 January.^[32]

Personal life[link]

Adrian Smith was born in Hackney Hospital and grew up a few streets away from his childhood friend, and current band-mate, Dave Murray.^[33] Smith, whose father was a painter and decorator from Homerton, was the youngest of three, with an older brother, Patrick, and a sister, Kathleen.^[1] As a child, he was "a Manchester United fanatic," although he would lose his interest in football once he got into music.^[1]

In his spare time, Smith is a keen angler, revealing that he used to take "worms and maggots" with him on tour,^[34] and was featured on the front cover of Angler's Mail on 25 August 2009.^[35] For over 20 years, he has been married to his Canadian wife,^[26] Nathalie Dufresne-Smith, who currently works for Maiden Flight, a cancer awareness/ patient rights organisation,^[36] and the pair have three children, Dylan, Natasha and Brittany.^[37]

Equipment[link]

Guitars[link]

Smith currently prefers to use his Jackson signature 'San Dimas' Dinky, although he has used a variety of guitars over his career, including several different Dean models,^[38] various Jacksons,^[38] including the Randy Rhoads model, Fender Stratocasters (including three Fender Floyd Rose Classic Stratocasters; one with an added Roland midi pickup), Gibson Les Pauls,^[38] Gibson Explorers, Gibson SGs,^[38] an Ibanez Destroyer,^[38] a Hamer Scarab,^[38] and Lado Guitars.^[38] On the A Matter of Life and Death DVD, he says the first decent guitar he bought was a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, which he paid £235 for when he was 17.^[39] He still uses it to this day,^[40] stating that "it's still probably the best guitar I've got".^[39]

Currently his touring guitars are: Gibson Les Paul Goldtop with Dimarzio Super Distortion in bridge position,^[40] his Jackson Superstrat 1986 prototype (which can be seen in the Maiden England video) with the pickguard changed to resemble his signature model,^[41] a Jackson Signature model with black scratchplate and maple neck,^[42] an early 70's Gibson SG,^[40] and another Jackson, inspired by his Les Paul Goldtop.^[43]

As of August 2007, Adrian Smith endorses Jackson Guitars, his first guitar company endorsement in over fifteen years. With Jackson he has an Adrian Smith San Dimas DK model.^[44] Prior to his endorsement, he was seen using other Jackson guitars, such as a King V during his time in Bruce Dickinson's solo band, before he went to Fender guitars. In August 2008, he had a Jackson guitar stolen from backstage at a show in Greece.^[45]

Effects, controllers and processors[link]

• Dunlop Uni-vibe Wah Controller^[46]
• Yamaha MFC10 Midi Foot Controller^[46][47]
• DigiTech Whammy Pedal^[46]
• Two Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamers^[48]
• Mike Hill B.I.S. Isolation hole^[46]
• Lexicon MX200 multi-effects unit^[47]

Amplifiers[link]

• Two 300-Watt Marshall 1960A Angled-Front 4x12 Cabs loaded with 75-Watt Celestion G12-T75 Speakers^[46]
• Two Marshall 30th Anniversary 6100LM 100-Watt All-Tube Heads^[46]
• Two Marshall DSL100 JCM2000 Amplifiers^[48]
• Marshall 9200 Rack Power Amp^[48]

Units and tuners[link]

• Shure U4 Wireless Receiver^[46]
• Whirlwind Multi-Selector 4-Channel Selector^[46]
• Dunlop DCR-1SR Rack Wah^[46][48]
• Peavey Tubefex Tube Preamp & Multi-Fx Unit^[46]
• Marshall JMP-1 Valve Midi Preamp^[48]

Discography[link]

Urchin "Black Leather Fantasy" (1977) "She's A Roller" (1977) Urchin (2004)- Best of/Compilation Iron Maiden Main article: Iron Maiden discography Killers (1981) The Number of the Beast (1982) Piece of Mind (1983) Powerslave (1984) Somewhere in Time (1986) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) Brave New World (2000) Dance of Death (2003) A Matter of Life and Death (2006) The Final Frontier (2010)

Iron Maiden portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Adrian Smith A.S.A.P. Silver and Gold (1989) Psycho Motel State of Mind (1996) Welcome to the World (1997) Bruce Dickinson Main article: Bruce Dickinson discography Accident of Birth (1997) The Chemical Wedding (1998) Primal Rock Rebellion Awoken Broken (2012) Guest appearances Earthshaker - Earthshaker (1983) - "Dark Angels (Animals)" (writing credits only)[49] Hear 'n Aid – "Stars" (1985) Rock Aid Armenia – The Earthquake Album (1989) – "Smoke on the Water" Iron Maiden - Live at Donington (1992) - "Running Free" Michael Kiske – Instant Clarity (1996) – "The Calling", "New Horizons" Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper (also released as: Welcome to Nightmare: An All-Star Salute To Alice Cooper) (1998) – "Black Widow" Dave Colwell - Guitars, Beers & Tears (2010) - Lead vocals on "Reach Out"

Notes[link]