Throughout his life and career, business leader and versatile entrepreneur Ira Smolens has maintained involvement in a vast array of professional, charitable, and personal endeavors, attaining a high degree of achievement in each of his pursuits. Trained as a mechanical engineer as a student at the City College of New York, Ira Smolens earned his undergraduate degree in 1965 and subsequently launched his career at IBM. From IBM, Ira Smolens went on to serve as Vice President of Commercial Applications at Informatics, the second-largest American software company at the time. At the end of his tenure with Informatics in 1972, Ira Smolens entered the nascent field of direct-response marketing as Chief Operations Officer of Automated Marketing Systems, Inc., where he served the needs of such multinational corporations as Ford Motor Company, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Cunard Line. Three years later, Ira Smolens founded his own marketing firm and quickly became the top direct-response print buyer in the United States. In 1984, Ira Smolens further diversified his interests to include infomercial production and the purchase of downtime slots on major cable and broadcast networks. For the next several years, Ira Smolens produced infomercials that generated hundreds of millions in revenue, bought the majority of downtime for all broadcast and cable channels, and gained widespread recognition as a pioneering figure in the infomercial industry. By 1991, Ira Smolens had sold his media company and made investments in several other promising sectors, including real estate and Internet marketing. At present, Ira Smolens splits his time between a number of professional activities as an investor and executive, most notably serving as President of Pound Ridge Products (a multifaceted marketer of consumer goods) and operating CarTHINK, LLC (a full-service online marketing firm with a focus on the automotive industry). Successful in both of these ventures, Ira Smolens continues to steer Pound Ridge Products towards success in the global home shopping arena and serves the needs of 2,500 clients through CarTHINK, LLC.

Recognized for his charitable contributions, Ira Smolens has volunteered his time, energy, and resources to a broad range of philanthropic causes in his home state of Florida and beyond. Over the years, Ira Smolens has donated to CasaBlanca Academy, the International Vasa Previa Foundation, First Book, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and Odyssey House, which provides treatment to adults and adolescents with mental and substance abuse issues. Highly active within the Jewish community as well, Ira Smolens gives whenever possible to the Jewish Federations of North America and numerous causes in Israel and the Jewish Community Center of the Greater Palm Beaches, where he takes part in numerous service activities. Ira Smolens lives and works in Boca Raton, Florida.