Charissa Smith

Charissa Smith serves as a senior advisor to MSCI, specifically focused on products. She also is a member of MSCI’s Executive Committee.

Charissa began her career at Morgan Stanley in quantitative research building risk models and portfolio optimization tools in support of Morgan Stanley’s equity clients and international portfolio trading efforts. In 1998, Charissa joined MSCI in Geneva and played a vital role in laying the foundations for MSCI’s Index business, including the development and launch of GICS and the transition to float-weighted indexes.

After briefly retiring in 2008, Charissa served as a Strategic Advisor to MSCI between 2014 and 2021. During this phase, she helped design and implement MSCI’s IOSCO and EU Benchmark Regulation response and compliance for the Index and Real Estate businesses. Additionally, she was instrumental in the transformation of several MSCI’s Real Estate Product business processes.

Charissa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Oberlin College.