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SMS Assist Hires Former Bain Capital EVP

Property management platform SMS Assist has hired Graham Blackwell as chief strategy and revenue officer. Blackwell (pictured) was most recently an EVP with Bain Capital’s North American private equity team, and has nearly two decades’ experience building businesses through the sharpening of strategy and execution.

“SMS Assist has grown into the company we are today because of our novel technology, smart strategy, and a relentless dedication to service,” said CEO Taylor Rhodes. “Graham will make all those qualities even stronger, allowing us to accelerate our next phase of growth.”

While with Bain Capital, Blackwell worked closely with the boards, management teams, and broader organizations of portfolio companies to define and execute enterprise-wide strategic transformation. His efforts resulted in accelerating revenue growth and strong investor returns across wide-ranging businesses.

Before joining Bain, Blackwell was an associate partner with McKinsey & Company, specializing in retail, and a consultant with Accenture.

Pictured: SMS Assist headquarters in Chicago

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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