Art Smith is founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GS1 Canada, a
not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering the continuous development and
adoption of global commerce standards. He is the visionary force behind the
organization’s track record of innovation.
In 1997, Art brought together a diverse group of standards organizations to form the
Electronic Commerce Council of Canada (ECCC). In 2004, the ECCC united with its
counterparts from the USA and abroad to create GS1—now recognized as the
world’s leading supply chain standards organization.
Recognized as an innovator in the retail space, Art is credited with a number of
North American firsts, including:
- Founding Club Z, the first retail loyalty buyer program in North America
- Designing and implementing the first retailer ATM and debit card program in
Canada
- Pioneering North America’s first interactive electronic home shopping
pilot
- Implementing (with Catalina Marketing) the first electronic coupon network in
Canada
In addition to participating on many Canadian retail and healthcare boards, Art
represents Canada on a number of international standards boards, shaping the future
of the retail supply chain. Some notable industry contributions include:
- Member of the GS1 Canada Board of Governors
- Member of Board of Governors of GS1 US
- Member of GS1 General Assembly
- Member of GS1 Global Management Board
- GS1 Canada board and steering committee member for Grocery, Food Service,
Healthcare, General Merchandise, and Pharmacy Boards
- Member of the Board Committee for Standards (BCS)
- Member of the Global Data Excellence Board
- Member of the Global Nominations and Governance Committee
- Member of the Global Omni-Channel Committee
- Member of the GS1US Executive Leadership Committee for Apparel & General
Merchandise
The development of ECCnet Registry, which is used by 50 data recipients (retailers,
distributors and healthcare providers), over 4,200 data owners and holds over
590,000 products, is a key achievement and has been recognized as a best practice
globally. Industry Canada has recognized this work as a highly successful, leading
initiative that brings value to Canadian industry.
As passionate about life as he is about work, Art is committed to the amateur sports
community. He was appointed by former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion to the
“Mayor’s Task Force on Sports.” Art also co-founded the BladeNET
Amateur Hockey Council, a not–for-profit organization dedicated to supporting
volunteer sports administration. BladeNET provided free amateur hockey scores and
schedules for hundreds of thousands of hockey families all over Canada.
Art has an MBA from the University of Western Ontario and a degree in computer
science from the University of Waterloo. A native Nova Scotian, Art lives in
Mississauga with his wife Lucy. They are the proud parents of two girls and doting
grandparents to three grandchildren.