Barry T. Smitherman
Chairman, Public Utility Commission of Texas
PUCT (Non-Voting) Representation on Board of Directors

Barry Smitherman currently serves as chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). He is a fourth-generation Texan appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the PUCT on April 21, 2004.

Before joining the PUCT, Mr. Smitherman spent 17 years as either a public finance investment banker or attorney advising state and local governments throughout the Southern, Southwestern, Midwestern, and Western regions. During this time he held leadership positions with several Wall Street firms including Credit Suisse, Lazard Freres, and JP Morgan (and one of its predecessors, Bank One, where he was national head of the tax-exempt bond department). He is also a former prosecutor with the Harris County (Texas) District Attorney's office and a former adjunct professor of public administration at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

Mr. Smitherman is a member of the State Bar of Texas, and he is on the Board of Directors of Ballet Austin.

Mr. Smitherman grew up in Highlands, Texas, a working class neighborhood on the east side of Houston. Mr. Smitherman graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He received a juris doctorate from The University of Texas School of Law while working at the Texas State Capitol for the late Senator Lindon Williams. He received a master of public administration from Harvard University and was awarded the first Joel Leff Fellowship in Political Economy by the John F. Kennedy School of Government.