Prior to joining Fenway Partners in July 1999, Mr. Smart was a Managing Director in the Financial Sponsors Group at Merrill Lynch & Co. Mr. Smart spent 13 years as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch; the last three years in the Financial Sponsors Group; the prior six years as a generalist corporate finance banker working on a wide range of assignments across a number of industries; the first four years in the High Yield Finance Group. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch & Co., Mr. Smart was with First Union National Bank. Mr. Smart received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.A. in Economics from Davidson College.