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David M. Smick, Sr., began his career as a global macroeconomic strategist, magazine publisher, and best-selling author, and is now a documentary filmmaker. He founded Johnson Smick International, a global strategic advisory firm in Washington, D.C., where he was in partnership with former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Manuel H. Johnson. The firm has provided strategic advice to some of the world's most successful investors.

David Smick has written op-ed pieces for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and USA Today. He has appeared as a commentator on a variety of news outlets including CNN, CNBC, The Charlie Rose Show, Bloomberg News, Fox Business, and Morning Joe.

In 2020 (with help from Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson who served as executive producer), Smick wrote and directed Stars and Strife, a full-length documentary that predicted a coming tidal wave of political, social, and economic division in America and throughout the industrialized world. Tom Friedman of the New York Times described the film as “an incredible work.” Stars and Strife was acquired by Lionsgate and premiered on Starz on September 21, 2020.

Smick's 2024 documentary America’s Burning had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and was shown nationwide by Regal Cinemas. The film describes the economic reasons for America’s division including the weakening of the middle class and decline of the American Dream. The film is executive produced by Academy Award-winners Michael Douglas and Barry Levinson, and narrated by Michael Douglas. David Ignatius of the Washington Post called the film “incredibly powerful.” Whoopi Goldberg on The View (talk show) labeled the film “imperative.” In 2025, Smick executive-produced the documentary Bucks County, USA, directed by Levinson. The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

In 2008, Smick wrote the award-winning bestseller, The World Is Curved. It has been published in 32 languages and was described by David Brooks of the New York Times as “astonishingly prescient.” The book discussed the financial perils of globalization. Bill Clinton called it “one of the three best books on the financial crisis.”