Call Gwendolyn Smith Iloani a role model and she won’t flinch.
The founding president and CEO of Smith Whiley & Co. in Hartford embraces the responsibilities that come with being the leader of one of the largest minority- and women-owned private equity firms in the United States.
Trailblazer? Absolutely.
Entrepreneur? No doubt.
Boss. Parent. Tutor. Arts supporter. Philanthropist.
They’re all roles that Iloani takes on with the same fervor she used to turn Smith Whiley into a powerhouse, with 14 employees and a second office outside Chicago.
Iloani presides over a growing business in a suite on Trumbull Street, across a hallway from the long-vacant offices of the Hartford Whalers. The defunct team’s logo still adorns a glass door, a reminder of the city’s more-vibrant past.
In the Smith Whiley offices, however, the focus is very much on the present and future. The company manages hundreds of millions in capital under a series of funds, providing mezzanine debt and private equity to small- and middle-market companies nationwide. It is on its way to reaching $1 billion, weathering the economic downturn through cautious investing and tireless financial research.
Through it all, Iloani has maintained a powerful presence in the community, serving at various times on boards at the UConn Foundation, her alma mater Colgate University, the Bushnell Center for Performing Arts, Hartford Stage and the Urban League.
She spends time in Hartford schools, speaking to minority youth about their future and her past, emphasizing that they shouldn’t dismiss a financial career because of stereotypes of race, color or gender.
As chairwoman of the Bushnell’s education committee, she has taken a lead role in the organization’s program called Partners, which seeks to incorporate the arts into core-subject studies in 14 local school districts. Through Smith Whiley, she is a key contributor to the Bushnell’s annual fundraiser.
“Gwen is extremely giving, both in her personal life and through her business,” said Ronna Reynolds, the executive vice president of the Bushnell. “She joined our board in 2005 and immediately threw herself into action. She’s a great advocate for children, the arts and education.”
Reynolds said Iloani is “incredibly down to earth. She is a person who is very centered and knows who she is. She shares every part of herself.”
“She is very accomplished but very approachable,” said Elsa Nunez, the president of Eastern Connecticut State University, which awarded Iloani with its Chase Medallion to symbolize her business and community accomplishments. “When she comes to speak to our students, they just gravitate to her. She’s a wonderful role model.”
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Streets of Gold
Iloani came to the United States from Jamaica when she was six. Her father first came to the United States alone, searching for a place to establish himself and save enough money to bring over his family.
Iloani says her father told her at a young age that the streets in the U.S. were paved with gold.
“I think he meant paved with opportunity,” said Iloani. “He wanted us to have a better life. He knew education was crucial. I grew up knowing that I could do well.”
Iloani went from a Brooklyn all-girls high school, with primarily black and Hispanic students, to the rolling hills of Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. She saw few black faces or women in her classes.
“We did have one visiting professor of color — a male,” she said.
Iloani’s exposure to people of different races and socio-economic status — and the challenge of fitting into such an environment — would serve her well in later life.
“I was up there in the wilderness; a small town with mountains and hills. I would visit white professors’ houses with other kids,” she said. “I was forced to figure out how to build friendships.”
After graduating from Colgate in 1976, Iloani received her MBA at the University of Hartford and scored a job at Aetna as an actuary. She later jumped at the chance to take a position in the investment department.
“I didn’t have a plan to go to Wall Street, but the environment at Aetna was one where you were always learning,” she said. “They gave me freedom to take positions on companies, as long as I could defend my position.”
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A New Venture
When Iloani researched a firm to determine if it was an investment fit, she explored every aspect of the organization and learned all she could about its practices.
“I was curious and I would try to find out all I could about the companies,” she said. “It was exciting to me.”
When the break up of AT&T took effect in 1984, Iloani was charged with researching what the regulatory consequences were for companies that Aetna invested in. By 1993, she was managing $300 million in investment funds for Aetna. It was at that time that Iloani approached the company with the idea of it helping her finance a new venture.
Iloani, with Aetna’s financial backing, launched Smith Whiley in May of 1994. The name came from her father — Smith — and her grandfather — Whiley.
“The early days were great,” she said. The new company had a bright leader, enthusiastic early employees and most importantly the backing of a financial giant.
“Aetna was like a big brother,” said Iloani. “I didn’t have to worry about things that normal start-ups worry about.”
Money, she said, was not an issue.
“The challenge was to pick the right people. They had to get your vision,” Iloani said.
The two people Iloani chose to help her run Smith Whiley, managing director Colette Nakhoul and senior managing director Venita Fields, share not only Iloani’s vision but also experience with the challenges of being women in a male-dominated profession.
Iloani recalls an incident in the late 1990s when the three women entered a room filled with members of a committee that a company convened to select an investment firm — all white men — and watched their surprised reaction.
“No one told them we were women,” she said. “The chairman tells us he had a third grade girlfriend named Collete. We had to take some time to remind them why we were there.”
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Family Priorities
These days, Iloani spends less time proving herself professionally and more taking care of the three men in her life: the children her late sister left in her care.
When her younger sister Jaleith died after fighting leukemia 10 years ago at age 36, Iloani followed her sister’s wishes and took the children in. Twins Brandon and Bryan are now 12 and in school in Farmington and Corey is 16 and a student at Westminster School in Simsbury.
Since taking custody of the children, Iloani’s life has been radically changed.
“I was married to Smith Whiley,” said Iloani. “I used to work on investment strategies until 4 a.m. Now I’m going to football games and school events and talking about sex.”
Iloani said the boys are aware that she has an important job and that a lot of people rely on her to make critical decisions. They also like to fight about which of them will eventually be the president of Smith Whiley, she said.
“They’re my first priority,” she said. “I’m responsible for three lives. There is nothing more important.”
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