{"id":46819,"date":"2021-09-30T14:44:59","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T21:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=46819"},"modified":"2021-09-30T14:51:21","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T21:51:21","slug":"passing-of-torch-chelsey-bode-becomes-sole-owner-of-pearson-kelly-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2021\/09\/passing-of-torch-chelsey-bode-becomes-sole-owner-of-pearson-kelly-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Passing of Torch: Chelsey Bode Becomes Sole Owner of Pearson-Kelly Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Mike Kelly (left) and Chelsey Bode, Pearson-Kelly Technology<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chelsey Bode officially became the sole owner of Springfield, Missouri-based Pearson-Kelly Technology on Sept. 30 after 10 years of succession planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Bode\u2019s been the primary partner in charge of day-to-day operations since 2011, she made the final buyout of her father, Mike Kelly, to formalize the transition of power this week. According to Bode, \u201cThis has always been the plan. It\u2019s just been in the last five years or so, though, that we\u2019ve gotten serious about the when.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Pearson-Kelly\u2019s core values is transparency. As such, they\u2019ve never shied away from having conversations about their succession plans with employees or clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bode says it\u2019s actually provided comfort and clarity to individuals looking to partner with the growing company. This transition, for her, means, \u201cwe\u2019re following through and doing what we\u2019ve always said we would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee Flood, executive vice president at Pearson-Kelly Technology, noted that Bode’s resolve helped convince him to make the dealer his career desintation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeven years ago, I sat at Chelsey\u2019s kitchen table with her and Mike and asked, ‘how do I know this is going to last?’\u201d Flood recalled. \u201cBecause I was at a competitor and wasn\u2019t about to jump ship if I was walking into another situation like I was planning to leave. She said, ‘This is my long-term plan.’ That\u2019s why I\u2019m here now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Female Owner in a Male-Dominated Industry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This transition is a step forward for Pearson-Kelly Technology and for a predominantly male-owned industry. Despite women making up over 50 percent of the workforce, only 25 percent of computer and technology-related jobs are held by women. And that percentage has been declining since the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bode\u2019s new role as owner places her in a prime position to build up female leaders within and outside Pearson-Kelly Technology. Since she began to accumulate shares in 2011, Bode has worked to foster an inclusive culture. Pearson-Kelly\u2019s leadership team has continually curated 40-50 percent female leaders from 30 percent female staff overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been amazing to watch Chelsey grow in her leadership roles and support other women leaders along the way,\u201d said Michelle Contrell, broker\/team owner at Murney Associates LLC. \u201cI, personally, have had the pleasure of collaborating with her on business and people development on several occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only does Bode build female leaders within Pearson-Kelly, but she also co-founded and co-chairs a national peer group of technology companies that discuss best practices and industry innovations. She sits on another board for a technology association, where she is one of only four sole female owners among 64 tech organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What this Means for PKT’s Future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As sole owner, Bode shifts more into her role as visionary \u2013 creating and designing the long-term vision and goals for Pearson-Kelly Technology \u2013 and relinquishes some of her day-to-day responsibilities to her executive vice president and integrator (Flood) and the rest of her leadership team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This transition makes that process easier, she says, because she feels she can take more risks now that it doesn\u2019t jeopardize what her dad worked for. \u201cBefore, I sometimes felt guilty for taking risks or really trying to grow the company because I knew it would be a long-term investment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYears ago, Mike put everything on the line to build PKT and wisely had faith in Chelsey to co-pilot it through years of growth,\u201d said Dustin West, operations manager at Modern Motorcars. \u201cMike and Chelsey have amazing entrepreneurial spirits and an honest appreciation for the PKT team and their clients. The future of PKT is very bright!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day-to-day operations will not change. The Pearson-Kelly team continues to focus on its core mission: to simplify technology for small and medium-sized businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly continues as an employee of Pearson-Kelly Technology, focusing on business development. The duo accomplished their first mission in building a successful technology company together and now set their sights on conquering their next. Still as a duo, just defined differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Chelsey Bode<\/strong>
Chelsey Bode joined Pearson-Kelly Technology in 2007 as its sixth employee. She is a GO Magazine<\/em> 2009 20 Under 30 Honoree, a Cannata Report<\/em> 2018 Young Influencer, a Springfield Business Journal<\/em> 2018 Most Influential Woman, an ENX Magazine<\/em> 2018 Industry Difference Maker, a Springfield Business Journal<\/em> 2020 Trusted Adviser, a Biz 417 Magazine<\/em> 2020 10 for the Next 10 and a TigerPaw 2021 Channel Influencer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has also been featured in the Smarketing Show, ENX Magazine<\/em>, the Cannata Report<\/em>, BPO Media, GreatAmerica Financial Services and Industry Analysts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bode donates her time to several local boards including the Good Samaritan Boys Ranch, US Bank and the Institutional Review Board for BioKinetics. She also sits on advisory boards for industry organizations and groups like Connectwise, ACDI, Intermedia and Copier Dealer Association (CDA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chelsey Bode officially became the sole owner of Springfield, Missouri-based Pearson-Kelly Technology on Sept. 30 after 10 years of succession planning. While Bode\u2019s been the primary partner in charge of day-to-day operations since 2011, she made the final buyout of her father, Mike Kelly, to formalize the transition of power this week. According to Bode, \u201cThis has always been the plan. It\u2019s just been in the last five years or so, though, that we\u2019ve gotten serious about the when.\u201d One of Pearson-Kelly\u2019s core values is transparency. As such, they\u2019ve never shied away from having conversations about their succession plans with employees or clients. Bode says it\u2019s actually provided comfort and clarity to individuals looking to partner with the growing company. This transition, for her, means, \u201cwe\u2019re following through and doing what we\u2019ve always said we would.\u201d Lee Flood, executive vice president at Pearson-Kelly Technology, noted that Bode’s resolve helped convince him to make the dealer his career desintation. \u201cSeven years ago, I sat at Chelsey\u2019s kitchen table with her and Mike and asked, ‘how do I know this is going to last?’\u201d Flood recalled. \u201cBecause I was at a competitor and wasn\u2019t about to jump ship if I was walking into another situation like I was planning to leave. She said, ‘This is my long-term plan.’ That\u2019s why I\u2019m here now.\u201d A Female Owner in a Male-Dominated Industry This transition is a step forward for Pearson-Kelly Technology and for a predominantly male-owned industry. Despite women making up over 50 percent of the workforce, only 25 percent of computer and technology-related jobs are held by women. And that percentage has been declining since the 1980s. Bode\u2019s new role as owner places her in a prime position to build up female leaders within and outside Pearson-Kelly Technology. Since she began to accumulate shares in 2011, Bode has worked to foster an inclusive culture. Pearson-Kelly\u2019s leadership team has continually curated 40-50 percent female leaders from 30 percent female staff overall. \u201cIt has been amazing to watch Chelsey grow in her leadership roles and support other women leaders along the way,\u201d said Michelle Contrell, broker\/team owner at Murney Associates LLC. \u201cI, personally, have had the pleasure of collaborating with her on business and people development on several occasions.\u201d Not only does Bode build female leaders within Pearson-Kelly, but she also co-founded and co-chairs a national peer group of technology companies that discuss best practices and industry innovations. She sits on another board for a technology association, where she is one of only four sole female owners among 64 tech organizations. What this Means for PKT’s Future As sole owner, Bode shifts more into her role as visionary \u2013 creating and designing the long-term vision and goals for Pearson-Kelly Technology \u2013 and relinquishes some of her day-to-day responsibilities to her executive vice president and integrator (Flood) and the rest of her leadership team. This transition makes that process easier, she says, because she feels she can take more risks now that it doesn\u2019t jeopardize what her dad worked for. \u201cBefore, I sometimes felt guilty for taking risks or really trying to grow the company because I knew it would be a long-term investment,\u201d she said. \u201cYears ago, Mike put everything on the line to build PKT and wisely had faith in Chelsey to co-pilot it through years of growth,\u201d said Dustin West, operations manager at Modern Motorcars. \u201cMike and Chelsey have amazing entrepreneurial spirits and an honest appreciation for the PKT team and their clients. The future of PKT is very bright!\u201d Day-to-day operations will not change. The Pearson-Kelly team continues to focus on its core mission: to simplify technology for small and medium-sized businesses. Kelly continues as an employee of Pearson-Kelly Technology, focusing on business development. The duo accomplished their first mission in building a successful technology company together and now set their sights on conquering their next. Still as a duo, just defined differently. ### About Chelsey BodeChelsey Bode joined Pearson-Kelly Technology in 2007 as its sixth employee. She is a GO Magazine 2009 20 Under 30 Honoree, a Cannata Report 2018 Young Influencer, a Springfield Business Journal 2018 Most Influential Woman, an ENX Magazine 2018 Industry Difference Maker, a Springfield Business Journal 2020 Trusted Adviser, a Biz 417 Magazine 2020 10 for the Next 10 and a TigerPaw 2021 Channel Influencer. She has also been featured in the Smarketing Show, ENX Magazine, the Cannata Report, BPO Media, GreatAmerica Financial Services and Industry Analysts. Bode donates her time to several local boards including the Good Samaritan Boys Ranch, US Bank and the Institutional Review Board for BioKinetics. She also sits on advisory boards for industry organizations and groups like Connectwise, ACDI, Intermedia and Copier Dealer Association (CDA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":46820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[3654],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46819"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46819"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46822,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46819\/revisions\/46822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}