Carey Smith

Professional Overview 

As the chair, president, and chief executive officer of Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN), Carey is responsible for the company’s strategy, growth, business execution, and global operations. Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, Parsons is a leading disruptive technology provider in the national security and global infrastructure markets with more than 18,500 employees in 23 countries. 

Carey joined Parsons in 2016 as president of the Federal Solutions business. She was progressively promoted to chief operating officer (COO), president and COO, unanimously elected chief executive officer (CEO) by the board of directors effective July 2021, and appointed Chair effective April 2022. 

As President and COO, Carey transformed Parsons to become an advanced technology solutions integrator through organic and inorganic investment, delivered top and bottom-line growth, integrated federal and critical infrastructure business operations and helped take the company public. Since becoming CEO, Carey set a clear strategic vision focused on core high growth and enduring markets, strengthened the executive leadership team, evolved the corporate culture resulting in improved employee hiring and retention, and drove strong, sustained organic revenue growth. During her tenure, Carey has driven the acquisition identification and integration of twelve companies: Williams Electric, Polaris Alpha®, OGSystems®, QRC® Technologies, Braxton Science and Technology Group, BlackHorse Solutions, Echo Ridge, Xator, LLC, IPKeys Power & Cyber Partners, Sealing Technologies, LLC, I. S. Engineers, LLC, and BlackSignal Technologies. 

Prior to joining Parsons in 2016, she held a series of progressive leadership roles within the defense and aerospace industry. Most recently, Carey was president of the defense and space business unit at Honeywell, where she led an expansion of the company’s business across the U.S. government and international defense agencies. She also previously served as vice president of Honeywell Aerospace Customer and Product Support and president of Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc. 

Prior to Honeywell, Carey held executive positions at Lockheed Martin, including as vice president of Technical Services, vice president of business development for the Maritime Systems and Sensors business unit, and president and CEO of the company’s Canada operations. She began her career as a systems engineer. 

A technology focused, results driven and proven leader, Carey is committed to serving customers’ missions and achieving shareholder business results by creating and leading high-performance teams. 

Education 

Carey holds an M.S. in electrical engineering from Syracuse University and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Ohio Northern University. In 2018, she received an honorary doctorate from Ohio Northern University for her outstanding contributions to the university and the field of engineering. 

Additional Information 

She is a member of the Board of Directors for two public companies – Parsons Corporation and Edison International, and a member of the Board of Directors for two non-profit organizations - the Professional Services Council and Executive Mosaic where she serves as Chair of the CEO Group. 

Carey was selected as the GovCon Executive of the year in 2023, awarded for six years the Executive Mosaic “Wash100”, and five years the WashingtonExec “Top Execs to Watch”. She was named to the Virginia 500 Power List from 2020-2023 and as one of the “Top 5 COOs to Watch” in Government Contracting in 2020. Carey is a NACD certified board member and NACD certified in cyber governance. Carey was the Marlington High School alumni of the year in 2016 and Ohio Northern University alumni of the year in 2015.