Humble Beginnings
The CEOs and senior GovCon leaders of today weren't always sitting in the corner office. They weren't born in suits with a handbook for success and a direct path to leadership. In fact, before many of these executives came into positions of powers, they had rather humble beginnings -- no corporate family tree or unlimited access. Many had to find their way on their own with little to fall back on. This podcast will share the stories of high school part-time work, first jobs and early-career decisions, decades before the CEO appointments and the board memberships. We'll learn about the unconventional paths to success, the ones most of us can relate to.
Humble Beginnings
Paul Smith's Big Family Roots Fuel a Strong Work Ethic and Focus on Connection
In this episode of Humble Beginnings, we chat with Rancher Government Solutions' CEO Paul Smith about his Baltimore, Maryland, upbringing, and ultimate rise to leadership. Smith and his seven siblings all worked their way through high school and college after attending Catholic parochial school as children for its values, proximity and affordability. While Smith's first job after graduating from Loyola College with a Business Administration degree was with Exxon Office Systems, he spent time in his youth cutting lawns and serving papers. These experiences taught him the value of hard work at a young age, and he'd later categorize his leadership style as a "connector," for reasons that also resonate with his journey.
Tune in to hear how Smith went from selling word processors to the legal market at age 22, to retiring from Red Hat once it sold to IBM only to be recruited back to the industry just 19 months later to run the American subsidiary of SUSE, or Rancher Government Solutions. Today, he's giving back, remembering the leaders who impacted his career and sharing words of wisdom to the next generation.