President/CEO, Smiley Technologies
WHAT’S YOUR SECRET TO SUCCESS?
My success is 100 percent a credit to the people around me — the employees of Smiley Technologies and my family. The employees of Smiley Technologies are so committed to our customers and each other; they have taken us to the strategic growth we are seeing today. My family supports me on every level and grounds me every day in what is important in life.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE BEST ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
I genuinely love listening and solving problems for our customers and/or our employees.
HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN A WORK/LIFE BALANCE?
I believe I am able to maintain this because of the team we have built at Smiley. We share the burdens, and that allows each of us more time for our families and personal lives. This is one of the many reasons we were selected by Forbes to receive the Small Giants award this past year. We were one of 25 companies in the country to receive this award. In addition, I purposely make it a priority. Ninety-nine percent of things will be there tomorrow, and it will be OK if you handle it tomorrow. I am the only person that can enforce that balance for myself.
WHICH OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD?
I am most proud of accepting the CEO position of our company when it was presented to me. I had many insecurities around taking this role. But, I got out of my comfort zone and went to work. This role has been the most fulfilling of my career because of my real ability to change people’s lives for the better.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE?
“Don’t worry about it until it’s a problem.” — Walter Smiley, my father who founded Systematics
Elizabeth Glasbrenner is the co-founder of Smiley Technologies Inc. and has been president and CEO since 2015. She founded the company in 2002 along with her brother, Vance Smiley, after seeing a need for better software and superior customer service. Her father, Walter Smiley, founded Systematics in 1968, which eventually merged with Alltel Information Systems and today is part of FIS. Smiley Technologies is a core systems provider for community banks and financial institutions with clients across eight states including Arkansas, California, Oregon, Washington, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas and Missouri.
In 2020, Smiley Technologies became one of 25 firms in the country to receive the Forbes Small Giants distinction. In addition, in late 2019, Smiley Technologies was officially confirmed by Tugboat Institute to be a Certified Evergreen™ company. Evergreen businesses are led by purpose-driven leaders with the grit and resourcefulness to build and scale private, profitable, enduring and market-leading businesses that make a dent in the universe. Her experience prior to Smiley Technologies includes both development and special events roles at Carolinas Healthcare Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network and National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park, Col. Glasbrenner has a bachelor’s of science in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis with a double major in marketing and management.