Huntsville Committee of 100: Women in Leadership Series

More about Joan: 

Joan Reichwein Smith is a Vice President at PeopleTec Inc. PeopleTec is a PeopleTec, Inc. is a growth-oriented, employee-owned small business that was founded in 2005 and has been voted a Huntsville Madison County Best Place to work for 9 years. At PeopleTec, Joan is responsible for efforts that support the U.S. Army’s future and enduring fleet of helicopters.

Joan leverages more than 15 years expertise in engineering and business management to serve Defense and Aerospace customers Prior to joining, PeopleTec, Joan was the President of S-RAM Dynamics. S-RAM Dynamics was privatelyfunded, registered small business specializing in technology development. At S-RAM, Joan developed a manufacturing facility, increased revenue, and successfully ensured continued efforts for S-RAM and affiliated companies. Joan also served as a US Army civilian for 11 years. In her last position, she served as the Integration Lead for the US Army’s Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP). She was responsible for program management of multiple efforts that enabled a higher powered, more fuel-efficient engine in the next generation of Black Hawk and Apache helicopters. Throughout more than a decade with the Department of Defense, Joan led missile research efforts, was selected as the first civilian to serve as Executive Officer to the AMRDEC Director, and managed multiple programs that facilitated improvements to the Black Hawk helicopter fleet. Through these roles, Joan led interdisciplinary teams across both Aviation and Missile portfolios and throughout the system lifecycle including research, development, engineering, and sustainment. Ms. Smith was born and raised in Alabama. She is passionate about improving her local community, state, and country. Designing, developing, and testing products in the United States is important to Ms. Smith and demonstrates her commitment to our country’s economic development.

Locally, Joan serves on the Committee of 100 Young Professional Executive Committee and volunteers to support local schools and athletic teams. Joan serves on the University of Alabama’s Blackburn Institute Advisory Board where she works to develop a network of leaders across Alabama devoted to understanding the challenges which face our state and act as agents of change. She also serves on the University of Alabama Capstone Engineering Society’s Board of Directors where she helps support the College of Engineering recruiting, program development, and alumni involvement. Ms. Smith is a graduate of The University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Joan is also a Leadership Huntsville Madison County Connect Class 9 graduate.

Joan and her husband, Will, live in Huntsville with their eight-year-old daughter, Kayleigh, and four – year-old son, Wilson. Joan and her family are members of Huntsville First United Methodist Church. In her spare time, Joan enjoys cooking from her garden, reading, and college sports.