Zed Smith is the Chief Operating Officer for The Cordish Companies, a Baltimore-based real estate development firm. Prior to joining The Cordish Companies in 2002, Zed was the founder and President of Urban Asset Management, a Baltimore-based real estate development firm that specialized in retail development in urban communities which included project work in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Zed began his real estate career with The Rouse Company in Columbia, Maryland. Zed holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Morgan State University, and currently serves on the Boards of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, and University of Baltimore School of Business.