Meet Julie

Julie Smith leads international operations support for Booz Allen’s commercial, international, and U.S. Government work abroad. She and her team focus on streamlining infrastructure practices, enabling business growth, and reducing risk and cost of delivery overseas.

Julie previously worked in corporate finance, leading the firm’s global tax, payroll and labor accounting practices.

Before she joined Booz Allen in July 2012, Julie spent over 15 years advising companies on complex international and corporate tax consulting projects in the public and private sectors. She has worked with global businesses in the government contracting, lodging, technology, and professional services industries.

Her prior experience includes serving as Contemporary Services Corp.’s international tax planning and structuring director, consulting at Deloitte and Arthur Andersen, and working for Marriott International.

Julie holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida and is a certified public accountant in Virginia.

What makes you excited to come to work in the morning? The challenges. Sometimes they can seem overwhelming, but as my husband reminds me, “If the job was boring you wouldn’t want it.”

What is a pressing need affecting your work? As we expand globally, we need to think globally about all of our infrastructure. Parts of it were built for a U.S.-based business. They need to be upgraded.

What are the biggest challenges as Booz Allen expands internationally? The unknown. We’re expanding into countries that we’re less familiar with. To minimize the “scare” factor, we need systems that help us see the risks and opportunities particular to wherever we are in the world.

Where do you see Booz Allen in the next 100 years? I see us with a much larger international footprint. Maybe 50 percent of our business instead of less than 1 percent.

Why do you have the career you have? Because I have the courage to try new and different things. After many years in finance, I knew that if I was going to do something outside of that world, Booz Allen would be the place. Then I raised my hand to lead our international operations when no one else did.

What are a couple of highlights of your career? One of them is building our global tax department. I started by hiring experts who would embrace technology and thrive in this collaborative environment, then scrapped everything we had and rebuilt it. I’m hoping my next highlight will be doing the same for our international operations.

What are your tips for managing and motivating your people?  Making them feel appreciated, and letting them know it’s OK to make mistakes. I don’t want people to be afraid to try something challenging for fear of making a mistake.

What’s the best business advice you’ve gotten in your career? To have thick skin. When everyone wants the best, you receive a lot of constructive feedback. It takes thick skin to actually apply that feedback.

What mentorship advice would you give someone taking on a new leadership role? That it’s OK not to be perfect right away.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I was always good at math and liked problem solving. One day someone said, “You should be an accountant.” And that’s how I started my career.

What is one thing you always have with you? High-heels. They’re going to have to pry them off me when I can no longer walk in them.

What’s the most influential book you’ve read? Atlas Shrugged. It helped shape me and my economic views.

What is your favorite vacation or travel spot? Snowboarding in Chile, where my mom is from. Also, I love scuba diving, so anywhere with an ocean.

What was the best gift you’ve ever received? When I was in college my grandmother gave me a pair of diamond earrings. I’ve worn them for 20 years straight.

What’s your strongest character trait? My sense of humor. I can make people smile and laugh even in really difficult times.

What’s something not many people know about you? I am a cancer survivor. When I was undergoing chemo, colleagues may have wondered why I was always wearing a head scarf. I don’t think many guessed cancer because I stayed so positive. 

What’s been your life’s biggest challenge? The balance between having a happy family and a rewarding career. It has been the support of my husband, parents and employer that has made the balance possible.

What can we do to be happier? Laugh more. People take themselves way too seriously.