Janis Mitchell has always been up for a challenge. If someone tells her she can’t do something, she’ll do it and she’ll succeed. Although she is dyslexic and has struggled with learning disabilities throughout her life, Mitchell applied grit, determination and passion to overcome these disabilities with gusto. And, not surprisingly, she uses these same characteristics in her business life and volunteer work.
Mitchell, the founder, president and CEO of Precise Resource, was named one of the 2010 Smart Leader honorees by Smart Business and Blue Technologies. We asked her how she innovates at Precise Resource, an executive search and technical staffing firm that specializes in providing talent resource management to Fortune 500 companies and fast-growth companies of all sizes.
Q: Give us an example of a business challenge you and/or your organization faced, as well as how you overcame it?
I’m a work in progress, despite the successes. I’m a graduate of The Ohio State University, recipient of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Person of the Year for Central Ohio in 2003, awardee of the Women for Economic Leadership and Development’s one of “12 Women You Should Know,” and honoree of the National Association of Women Business Owners 2005 Visionary Award winners. While I’m a serial entrepreneur, it has never come without work.
In 2000, I gained national recognition when I founded Info Fortress Solutions, the first company in the world to deliver cross-company single sign-on with SAML protocol. In 2004, I sold Info Fortress to Betrusted, a global provider of security trust services. Under the acquisition, I served as president of Betrusted Consulting for the Americas, managing the firm’s domestic professional services group.
I try to balance running companies with being involved in areas I care deeply about. I currently serve on several nonprofit boards, including Ohio IT’s Alliance, where I am actively involved with Ohio’s Get it Green Initiative. It is dedicated to providing education, awareness and proliferation of IT energy-efficiency best practices, standards and policies to assist IT leaders and data center managers in addressing the economics behind the ecological need to embrace green IT solutions. My most recent philanthropic effort is founding a nonprofit aimed at helping dyslexic children and families prevent having doors shut of opportunities, called D.O.O.R. That has been challenging.
