As many of you have heard by now, I have taken on a new role at Legacy Business Cultures. I am now the CEO and majority owner. It’s scary and exciting at the same time. It’s scary because my husband, best friend and partner has built an incredibly successful business and I don’t want to mess it up.  It’s also scary because he trusts me with one of the most important things in his life – a company that he built from scratch – and I don’t want to let him down with this…or in life period.

Even though I have had 20 years of experience as a CEO running nonprofits and for-profit businesses successfully, this is different. Our business helps sustain two families right now, two children still in high school and one grown child who works in the business daily. It provides income for three other team members and many other consultants and partners. But most of all, it’s my husband’s passion and joy to help people, companies and government agencies become better, stronger, more efficient and  successful by being more inclusive, diverse, adaptable, compassionate and resilient. I guess that’s one of the reasons Paul and I ended up married and business partners. These are passions that we have shared since before we met.

For years, my focus as a CEO was on nonprofits that worked to improve the lives of children from socially and economically disadvantaged communities (Boys and Girls Clubs and Mentors of Minorities in Education) and to improve the health and safety of communities around the country (American Red Cross, American Heart Association and The Poe Center for Health Education). It was this shared passion to help others that brought us together. It is the reason I went to work for Paul over 3 years ago and it is the reason I agreed to be CEO and take on this new role. I share his vision to grow our company in the government and private sectors by allowing him to do what he does best – create, teach, train, inspire and empower. While I get to do what I do best – plan, execute, attract great talent and team members, improve operations and create new business opportunities.

So…yes I am scared, yes I am excited and yes I am grateful that I have someone by my side that believes in me and trusts me to take care of his dream. Thank you Paul for this opportunity. Not only will I not let you down, but because this is OUR dream now, I promise to help make it even better than it’s been before!