Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: CAREY A. SMITH

A six-time winner of Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 Award recognizing leading government contracting executives, Smith joined Fortune 1000 defense contractor Parsons in 2016 and quickly rose through its ranks; today, she serves as chair, president and CEO.

Smith helped take Parsons public in 2019 and led its acquisition and integration of many companies, including its $400 million acquisition of Xator in 2022 and its $43 million purchase of IPKeys Power Partners in 2023.

Before Parsons, Smith held executive posts at Honeywell Aerospace and Lockheed Martin. She holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Ohio Northern University and a master’s in electrical engineering from Syracuse. She serves on Edison International’s board.

Parsons, which has more than 18,000 employees globally, posted $5.4 billion in 2023 revenue, a 30% annual increase. In March, Parsons announced a contract worth up to $1 billion from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for project and construction management support. In April, it announced a contract capped at $1 billion to deploy advanced counter-nuclear smuggling systems for the National Nuclear Security Administration.