From Raleigh to Wall Street to Dubai

David Smoot is a long way from Raleigh -- a world away.

But Raleigh is still with him.

"It absolutely shaped me," said Smoot, 38, on the phone from Dubai, where he just got a gig managing money for one of the world's richest people, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

"I had a great foundation there," Smoot said. "I was very fortunate to grow up in a family and a community and in a church that instilled very basic values and common decency. I carry those lessons with me every day."

Smoot arrived in the Middle East about three weeks ago to begin work as managing director for private equity at Dubai International Capital. The firm has more than $12 billion in assets.

Smoot is the son of retired N.C. State University professor Jeanne J. Smoot and developer David M. Smoot, who owns the Velvet Cloak Inn. He attended Ravenscroft School before heading to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, Duke University and Harvard Law.

He spent the past 11 years at Morgan Stanley in New York.

Thursday, he shared thoughts on his job, on growing up in Raleigh and on living in one of the world's fastest-growing cities.

ON MOVING FROM MORGAN STANLEY: "It's very different in the fact that you're no longer cushioned by a 65,000-person organization with a person available who specializes in helping you deal with all the minutiae," Smoot said. "From the standpoint of financial strength, I'd rather be here than on Wall Street right now."

ON LIVING IN DUBAI: "Ask me what the weather is, and automatically I'll tell you it's sunny," he said. SUVs are common because gas is cheap.

Smoot said it costs about $12 to fill up his rented Chevy.

"This is a very forward-thinking, progressive part of the world," he said. "This is truly a 21st century city."

ON HIS JOB: As part of its private equity strategy, Dubai International Capital has focused on leveraged buyouts. It already has invested about $3 billion in Europe. Smoot will develop a North American strategy for the firm.

His wife and three sons will move to Dubai in about three weeks. Once an office is established in the United States next year, they'll move back.

ON HIS HOMETOWN: Smoot tries to get to Raleigh two or three times a year to visit his parents and younger brother, Daniel.

On construction sites with his dad, Smoot learned the value of hard work. "I have been in many a construction ditch alongside some of the most thoughtful people in the world. ... I have a deep appreciation for the value of common sense as a result."