Jane (Jenny) Donaldson founded Annapolis Micro Systems in 1982 as a services-based company with two employees.
As long-time president, she shaped the mission and vision of the company for over 30 years. She inspired fierce loyalty among employees, many of whom worked with her for decades.
In 2014, Jenny supervised the installation of a new state-of-the-art SMT line. Assisting was husband and business partner Bob Donaldson.She believed in harnessing the newest technologies to be first to market. “If you are not pushing the envelope, then you are wasting everyone’s time and money,” she told Embedded Computing Design in a 2013 interview.
To nurture an innovation environment, she encouraged risk-taking in her employees. “You need to make mistakes in order to learn,” she said. “If you never make mistakes, then you are not pushing yourself hard enough."
Jenny also had a soft and generous side.
When she read in the newspaper that Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services didn’t have enough funds to supply gifts and food for 1,200 families in their Holiday Sharing program, she cut a check for $10,000. Then she was embarrassed by all the attention the act received.
She loved children and would encourage employees to bring their kids to the office. The company’s continuing family-friendly culture is attributed to her leadership.
Learn more about the history of Annapolis Micro Systems.