Gerald Roach

Raleigh, NC

Gerald Roach is a top-rated attorney and immediate past chair of the Wake Forest University Board of Trustees. As Firm Chair at Smith Anderson in Raleigh, North Carolina, Mr. Roach heads the Corporate Group with a practice focused on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, public company securities, technology law and advising boards and special committees. He is past chair of the Business Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and he has been designated a Band One leading lawyer, the highest level of recognition, in Corporate/M&A by Chambers USA each year since 2004.

A third-generation Wake Forester, Mr. Roach earned his undergraduate and law degrees in 1980 and 1982, respectively. His service on the board of trustees began in 2010, and his election as Board Chair in 2018 is the most recent chapter of a long service to the university, having previously served as a member of the College Alumni and Law Councils, Chair of the Parents Council, and more. He also served as Vice Chair of the WFU Health Sciences Board and as a member of the Medical Center Board. For his commitment to the broader community, Mr. Roach has been featured on Business North Carolina’s Power 100 list numerous times.