Women Of Excellence: Charleen McBrayer
CEO & founder, CCCi
Allison Shirreffs
July 1, 2008
sponsored by:
I
n 1995, Charleen McBrayer's husband Pat died from a heart attack, leaving more than a
widow and four teenage children behind, but a business and no succession plan.
While his wife had worked at the IT consulting and staffing company since its launch in 1978, she'd worked from home, overseeing payroll and managing accounts receivable while raising the couple's children.
Shortly after his death, three different people handed McBrayer an article from a national publication about women taking charge of their husbands' companies after their deaths. McBrayer may not have paid much attention to the article if only one person had handed it to her, but three? There was a clear message being sent.
Even though she had no business education except for the financial background she used to do the books, she felt fortified by what she and her late husband had accomplished – and by the people around her believed in her.
While fending off potential buyers, McBrayer assured clients that the high level of service and trust they'd grown accustomed to at CCCi wouldn't change. At home, McBrayer did her best to corral four teenagers, but leading upward of 400 IT professionals in five southeastern cities?
Her financial background led her to make sound financial decisions and to see the economy as part of the business landscape. Regardless of the market, McBrayer says, a business that secures its finances and continues to make smart financial decisions will be able to work through lean times. CCCi routinely appears on "Top" lists. In 2006, the company appeared on Atlanta Woman Magazine's list of "Top 20 Woman-Owned Businesses in Atlanta."
In 2007, Women in Technology nominated McBrayer for its Woman of the Year Award.
Bonnye Woodlief, an elementary school teacher and a friend of McBrayer's for more than 30 years, describes her as having a "sense of peace and contentment." After her husband's death, McBrayer didn't cower in fear. "That's not her personality," Woodlief says.
Remarried, McBrayer's expanded family is comprised of seven children and six grandchildren. She thinks about the opportunities afforded them. "The world is at their feet. They can do anything," McBrayer says, adding that opportunities for women –especially as business owners – are unending.
Being a working mom gave McBrayer a great deal of empathy for other working moms, and children are something McBrayer continues to champion. She's involved with the Georgia Family Council and along with her current husband, sponsors an orphanage and day care center in Peru.
Although the circumstances that led to McBrayer's leadership of CCCi were unfortunate, she discovered a lot about herself and what she could do given the opportunity. She advises her staff to follow their dreams, and knows as well as anyone that doing so can be scary. As she tells them, "It takes courage ... but courage is fear under control."
Return to the Women Of Excellence index page.
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