Tyler Smillie, a South-Florida based private banker and two-time graduate of the FSU College of Business, is set to receive the college’s 2024 Recent Alumni Achievement Award – an honor that left him surprised and humbled.Click to enlarge

Tyler Smillie has found his calling in a profession where numbers, relationships and solutions reign supreme.

As a South Florida-based private banker, Smillie (pronounced SMILEY) navigates the complex financial landscapes of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families with a blend of expertise and passion.

But his path to success began not among the palms of South Florida but in the halls of the Florida State University College of Business. Now, eight years after earning his MBA, Smillie is set to receive the college’s 2024 Recent Alumni Achievement Award – an honor that left him surprised and humbled. He will receive his award on Oct. 3 during the college’s Alumni Hall of Fame Gala.

"I didn’t expect it: I was shocked," he said. "I don't know if I've made it that far yet in my own eyes." 

As former chair of the college’s Recent Alumni Board, Smillie knows the caliber of fellow alumni. The award honors College of Business graduates, typically within the last 10 years, who boast exceptional careers and records of community involvement and service to the college and university.

“We have recent graduates doing amazing things,” Smillie said, “so I feel very honored and blessed to be selected for this recognition.”

“We have recent graduates doing amazing things, so I feel very honored and blessed to be selected for this recognition.”

– Tyler Smillie

Michael Hartline, dean of the college, commended Smillie as an exemplary alumnus who demonstrates the college’s highest values of excellence, integrity, societal impact and engagement with the college and its students.
“We congratulate Tyler on his award,” Hartline said. “We know he’ll continue to make us proud.”

Smillie graduated with a B.S. in Marketing, specializing in professional sales, in 2014 and an MBA in 2016. His professional journey began with a two-year development program at an Ohio-based private bank, which took him from Tallahassee to Cincinnati and then back to Florida. That experience laid the groundwork for his current role in private banking, where he serves an exclusive clientele of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families throughout South Florida, plus clients located in the northeast and beyond.

His role involves inserting himself within these complex financial ecosystems and guiding clients through decisions about, for example, general banking and investing and the financing of art collections, luxury yachts, custom homes and more. 

"Think of individuals and families blessed with the problem of how to manage their finances across their banking, investing, estate planning, tax planning, all of their business enterprises, all of their personal properties and then add in their yachts, planes and homes and art," Smillie said. 

"I love this segment," he added. "Every day is different and challenging, and we're solving complex issues in all aspects you can think of within the finance and business world."

Smillie also stays busy outside the office. He serves as a member of the College of Business Board of Governors and stays involved with numerous organizations in South Florida, including Susan G. Komen, the renowned breast-cancer-fighting organization; The Karen Wellington Foundation, which aims to enrich the lives of women and families living with breast cancer; and the Jack and Jill Center, which works to improve the quality of life for children and parents from high-need families. Also, he chairs Florida Atlantic University’s Tech Runway Advisory Board, on which he spearheads strategic planning of the university’s business incubation programs. 

As a Board of Governors member, Smillie emphasizes giving back and helping students launch fulfilling careers. He also mentors students, speaks in classes and, through his Smillie Family Scholarship, supports the college financially – returning the support he received as a student.

“It’s that blood-and-sweat equity that you give as a board member,” he said. “You give your time, you give your talent, you give your treasure and then your teamwork to help these students open a door. Maybe they need an introduction to an employer that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get. We try to help set these students apart and give them the best chance possible to get placed.”

When he’s not working or volunteering, Smillie pursues an array of interests that take him away from the hustle and bustle of work and urban life. First is his log cabin on 1.25 acres in Jupiter Farms, Florida, that he and his father, a veteran of the construction industry, renovated. 

He calls it a “hideaway from the city” that replaces traffic and sirens with the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs. 

Smillie used to mold his schedule to accommodate a hobby that started in high school and continued at FSU: ceramic art. He regularly visited a Fort Lauderdale studio where he created mugs, plates, bowls and cups, for example. 
He neither sold nor publicly displayed his work. Because of other benefits it offers, he aims to one day revisit and expand upon his hobby. 

“It's a great way to turn off your brain from day-to-day number crunching, let your mind wander and tap into your creativity,” he said. 

Smillie also challenges himself with grueling goals: He has competed in multiple marathons, including twice in the Chicago Marathon and once in the Cincinnati Marathon, and he’s now  preparing for the New York Marathon in November.  

“I’m not really built for it because I’m shorter and stockier,” Smillie said. “But I love the challenge of doing something that not everyone does or wants to do.”

You can bet that he will continue his near-decade-long run as a benefactor of business students.

“Not long ago,” Smillie said, “I was in their shoes.”