UNIONDALE, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 30, 2025 / Marquis Who's Who honors U.S. Navy veteran Jon Smith as a top professional. Mr. Smith is the principal and chief executive officer of Veteran Horizons LLC.

About Jon Smith

Mr. Smith was inspired to join the military by his family's long history of service and his father's involvement in World War II. As an officer in the U.S. Navy, he served from 1988 to 2009, retiring at the rank of commander (O-5). During his time in the Navy, he earned personal awards and commendations, including the Meritorious Service Medal. He was four times awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, NATO Medal, Overseas Service Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation, received the Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation twice, the Navy and Marine Corps Unit Commendation twice and numerous other unit and campaign medals and awards.

Mr. Smith earned an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and attended the U.S. Naval War College for strategic international studies. He also graduated from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Leadership Program and earned a master's degree in business from Central Michigan University. He most recently earned the MIT Sloan School of Business Certification for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Application in Business Strategy.

Outside of the Military

Mr. Smith segued into civilian life by becoming a director at Ford Motor Co. He has had a long, distinguished career in leadership positions in various companies, most recently at Hydromax USA, High Star Traffic, Acterra Group LLC and Veteran Horizons LLC.

"I've achieved a lot of success professionally and am grateful for many dream jobs in my lifetime, but most of all the people whom I've had the privilege of working with," Mr. Smith says.

Mr. Smith's areas of expertise reside in private equity value creation, company strategic plan development and implementation, mergers and acquisitions, executive leadership and board membership. He is adept at providing support post-transaction by serving as either a board member or operating partner. He is also an expert at advising private equity firms that are seeking to invest in infrastructure, energy and utility sectors. Mr. Smith identifies areas for improvement post-investment as well as partnering with the leadership teams of portfolio companies to mentor and accelerate growth.

"Certain sectors have a lot of uncertainty about factors like tariffs, economic policy and how they could affect the business in the long term. The markets that are doing well right now are industrial services, energy & utility services, infrastructure & construction, data centers and health care. They showed resilience during COVID and are the growth sectors today!" Mr. Smith says.

He also spends a considerable amount of time in philanthropic endeavors. He is passionate about causes that support Veterans and children dealing with life-threatening illness. Currently, Mr. Smith is the board chairman for the Ronald McDonald Charities of Omaha & Nebraska.

Achieving Success and Empowering Others

Mr. Smith has had many accomplishments in his career, but he particularly enjoys identifying those who share his vision and empowering them to succeed. His leadership style is to trust his teams to take charge and accomplish their goals.

Despite his many business achievements, Mr. Smith is most proud of his successful 28-year marriage to his wife and their family, which they raised in Elkhorn, Nebraska. They have raised three children together and now enjoy time with their two grandchildren.

"Living a life worth living has been a key concept for me. I believe true success is measured on the home front and through your legacy with family, children and grandchildren. Live today with gratitude and build a future that suits tomorrow, not your past," Mr. Smith says.

About Marquis Who's Who^®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America^®, Marquis Who's Who^® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America^® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms worldwide. The suite of Marquis^® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who^® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

Marquis Who's Who
Uniondale, NY
(844) 394 - 6946
info@marquiswhoswho.com
www.marquiswhoswho.com

SOURCE: Marquis Who's Who