Charles B. Gale holds a B.S. in Resource Conservation with an emphasis in Forestry Economics and one of the first Minor in Climate Change Studies in the US from the University of Montana. Additionally, he earned a High Performance Leadership Certificate from the Chicago Booth School of Business. Charles has made significant contributions to the mass timber industry, co-authoring the comprehensive "State of the Industry: North American Mass Timber 2019" report. Over the past 7 years his prior work with SmartLam as Strategic Business Analyst involved business development, advanced CRM/ERP implementation, lumber procurement, sales and opp’s planning and was involve in all aspects of the business.  During his tenure at Smartlam Charles was involved in 300+ mass timber projects, 30+ CLT panel certifications and RD Projects, the 25+ SFI/FSC sourced projects in the states and managed various departments in the business. Most recently he was managing sustainability and marketing for SmartLam and working on one of largest transparency sourcing mass timber projects in the nation.

Charles has extensive experience in the forest products industry, having held positions at Stimson Lumber Company and the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. At Stimson Lumber, he played a key role in log optimization,  production planning, economic and capital investment analysis, and ERP implementation. His research expertise is evidenced by numerous publications and technical reports on timber processing and industry trends with over 12 + journals and peer reviewed research objectives. As a student he was involved in establishing the foundational research for Montana’s Wood Product Revolving Loan fund where he helped secure $12 Million for the distressed wood product industry in the State.  He is a member of the Forest Products Society, the Society of American Foresters, Montana Wood Product Association and has served on the board of SFI and American Wood Council sustainability committee.  His achievements reflect a strong commitment to advancing sustainable forestry practices, sawmilling and the mass timber industry.