Carey Smith, president and CEO of Parsons (NYSE: PSN) and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, will assume additional duties as chairwoman of the Centreville, Virginia-based company’s board of directors, effective April 14.
She will succeed Chuck Harrington, who will retire as executive chairman after a four-decade career with the company, Parsons said Monday.
“Every day, our global workforce is delivering integrated solutions and services in a complex security environment and a world of digital transformation,” Smith said. “We are creating the future of national security and critical infrastructure by leveraging advanced technologies across these domains. I’m proud to lead and support my colleagues in that mission.”
In 2016, Smith joined Parsons as president of the federal solutions business. She elevated to the role of chief operating officer in 2018, assumed additional duties as president in 2019 and joined the company’s board a year later. She succeeded Harrington, a previous Wash100 Award winner, as the company’s CEO in July 2021.
Prior to Parsons, Smith held senior leadership positions at Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). She sits on the boards of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, Intelligence and National Security Alliance and the Professional Services Council.
Steven Leer, a board member at Parsons since 2013, has been elected by the board to succeed James “Jim” McGovern as lead independent director on April 14.
Leer previously served as CEO, chairman and executive chairman of Arch Coal and on the boards of Norfolk Southern, USG and Cenovus Energy.
