Chris Schmitt

CEO, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and Foundation

Education: Juris doctor and MBA, Case Western Reserve University; bachelor’s degree, Hiram College

What Success Looks Like to Me: Success to me looks like making a difference in the lives of people you may never meet directly. 

What I Look for in a Leader: Great leaders have “teammates” and not staff. Great leaders share credit and take blame. Great leaders understand that we can always make great things better next time. Great leaders celebrate the journey and the destination. And most important of all, great leaders develop great leaders and become their biggest fans when they move on to do great things elsewhere.

My Leadership Style: I lead by phrases and references. People get a lot of pop-culture and trivia references from me because everything reminds me of something else that I’ve seen or heard or read — that encyclopedic recall is one of those ADHD superpowers that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

A Cleveland Spot I Recommend: My daughter and I love to go on adventures around the region in search of great Asian food and unique arcade games. We recently discovered Claw Boba Snack at East 31st Street and Payne Avenue, and it’s an incredible place with super friendly owners and staff.