A banking executive with more than 30 years of experience, John E. Smith serves as the 2006 Chair of the Greater Slidell Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina who has served as the president of the Northshore Banking Division of Whitney National Bank since 2003.

Before joining Whitney Bank, Smith managed many several divisions of New Orleans-based Hibernia bank, starting in 1981. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Hospice Foundation of the South, the Northshore Regional Medical Center and the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation and on the Board of Commissioners of the St. Tammany Economic Development District.

He and his wife Ann live in Pearl River. They have five children.