Carey Smith chairs the board of Parsons Corporation, where she also holds the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition, she serves on the board of Edison International, a public company, and the Professional Services Council, a non-profit organization. With more than 40 years of leadership experience across the technology, defense, aerospace, and critical infrastructure sectors, she brings a combination of an engineer’s mindset and decades of executive leadership experience.
Smith began her career as an engineer before stepping into leadership positions at IBM Federal Systems and Lockheed Martin. She then went on to lead Honeywell’s Defense and Space business before joining Parsons, where she advanced through a series of executive leadership roles. Along the way, she has led various business transformation initiatives and acquisitions, and helped grow organizations serving both government and commercial markets.
Throughout her career, Smith has been focusing on turning ambitious strategy into practical execution for companies without losing focus on sustainable growth and accountability.
Governance Contribution and Boardroom Impact
Smith brings an operator’s mindset to boardroom discussions. Having led complex engineering and technology organizations, she understands how innovation, growth strategies, and operational performance must all work in tandem to create lasting value. Her experience continues to give her a practical perspective on operational and business strategy, enterprise risk management, and organizational leadership.
As Chair, President, and CEO of Parsons Corporation, and as a board member of Edison International, she now contributes to board discussions on technology, capital investment, and sustainable business growth.
What guides her approach to governance are a few practical principles:
- Strategy should clearly translate into measurable business results.
- Operational discipline must keep pace with ambition for strong growth.
- Technology and cybersecurity need active board oversight.
- Leaders must see beyond the next quarter for long-term organizational performance.
What She Brings to the Boardroom
Carey Smith brings the perspective of someone who has spent over four decades leading technology-driven organizations operating in complex, high-stakes environments. She connects long-term strategy with operational reality, helping boards balance innovation, execution, risk and sustainable growth.
Technology and Innovation Leadership
Through leadership roles at Honeywell and Parsons, Smith has worked across defense, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and national security. She understands how technology investments shape long-term competitiveness and what it takes to turn innovation into solutions that deliver real business value.
Operational Leadership and Execution
Having served as Chief Operating Officer before becoming CEO of Parsons, Smith has overseen large-scale operations and full P&L responsibility. Today, she is leading a global organization, which enables her to help boards understand what it takes to build high-performing teams and deliver results across complex organizations.
Growth and Business Transformation
Throughout her career spanning IBM Federal Systems, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and Parsons, Smith has led business development, acquisitions and organizational transformation. She understands what it takes to scale organizations while maintaining financial discipline and operational focus.
Governance and Risk Oversight
As both a public company CEO and board director, Smith brings firsthand experience overseeing evolving enterprise risk, leadership and cybersecurity. She helps boards strengthen governance while ensuring decisions remain aligned with long-term business performance.
Background
Carey Smith has more than 40 years of engineering and leadership experience. She is the Chair, President, and CEO of Parsons Corporation and is a board member of Edison International. Earlier, she held leadership roles at Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and IBM Federal Systems. Smith holds an MS in engineering from Syracuse University and a BS in engineering from Ohio Northern University. She is also NACD certified in corporate directorship and cybersecurity governance.
Connect with Carey Smith on LinkedIn HERE.
