The 2021 Women Leaders in Technology: Jennifer Crean

She knows serving as a female CEO and founder at a woman-owned business in the technology and aerospace consulting field isn't always easy – being a mom on top of that is a challenge she is proud to have achieved. "I have worked hard to achieve a successful life both professionally and personally. I founded CREAN with my husband James while raising three amazing, high-achieving children. My greatest professional achievement is growing CREAN's engineering team—from my husband James and me—into a consulting firm of more than 600 subject matter experts comprised of some of the smartest people in the industry. CREAN continues to grow and attract the best and brightest aerospace engineers and develop a team of experts that is truly unmatched. In recent years, one of the greatest professional achievements of our team has been developing and patenting CREAN's Smart Rack and Smart Bench technology for our Smart Factory solutions consulting business."

Crean credits family for setting her up for success, "My parents always told me, 'Do your best, and don't compare yourself to others.' When I was building this business with my husband, James, I never compared CREAN to potential competition. We weren't trying to match the work of other companies or fit into an industry mold. Instead, we established our own market. Having this sense of individualism built CREAN into a one-of-a-kind consulting firm with over 600 top-notch industry experts. We continue to grow, challenge the expectations of the industry, and search for new ways to approach problem-solving. It's important for anyone who wants to be successful to avoid comparisons—they'll only get you so far."

Q&A: What unique challenges have you experienced being a female consultant in the technology field?

"As a woman-owned small business, it was difficult at first to earn the trust of bigger companies. They don't expect a woman-owned small business to have the bark and bite of larger, male-dominated consulting firms. But the truth is, there isn't any other woman-owned small business competitor out there that does aerospace engineering consulting and smart factory implementations like CREAN. Some companies might not expect to find a woman-owned small business that can provide the incredibly high-caliber people that CREAN brings to the complex problems we solve every day. It's an ongoing conversation to build the trust and continue to grow our partnerships as companies see the incredible work our team can do."