Celebrating Aderant Women: A Spotlight on Deane Price for International Women’s Day 2020

Aderant is proud to have talented and hard-working women at the forefront of our company’s success around the globe. But we are especially proud of them this International Women’s Day 2020. To celebrate, we sat down with the woman leading Aderant to continue to make innovative solutions for law firms around the globe — CEO Deane Price.

Can you give us a brief background about yourself?

“I went to the University of Georgia and spent my early career at a small software company in Atlanta. I got to work in a variety of different areas and solve a variety of client challenges. I quickly discovered that I was a natural at taking on problems that needed to be solved. When I was 33 years old, two partners and I bought the company. At the time, I had a six-month-old and a three-year-old and gained 100 employees overnight. We had a lot to figure out. But that gave me the experience that eventually led me to Aderant.”

Did you ever see yourself becoming a business leader?

“Ha, early in my career the Vice President of my department asked me if someday I wanted his job, I thought about it for two seconds and told him absolutely not, that is too much responsibility. But, as I kept accumulating more responsibility (and yes, stress), I learned how to manage it and got used to it. Taking on a business at age 33 with two small children taught me that you can’t choose the timing of things. It may not have been the right time, but I knew it was the only time.

Balancing family with the business was tough and my husband’s support was instrumental in making the leap. He did more with the kids and our extended family helped along the way. Even when I was on bed rest while pregnant – where a male colleague asked if I was ‘home baking cookies’ at the time – I was still working.”

Why is it important for women to take on leadership roles, and how can we encourage them?

“Leadership can be different than what you may think. It is not just about managing people. Instead, you can choose different ways to lead. For example, Marie Burgess [Aderant’s Senior Director of Product Management] is a strong leader not just because of her leadership of those she manages, but because of her straightforward interactions with others and passion for helping everyone get better. People throughout the organization look to Marie for leadership.

How we can encourage women to take on leadership roles is a tough question. There are usually conflicting personal and professional goals and responsibilities which can be difficult to harmonize. And with so many men in the technology field, it can be difficult to find your voice. For me, as the youngest of seven kids, I grew up fighting to have a voice at the table, and I believe helped me in my career when I was the only woman at the table. But, with how education is changing with more technology and STEM programs and mentoring programs, we can help show women that there are opportunities for them. That’s why I am involved with the mentor program for UGA students. Also, having a support system is necessary.”

What’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to a young woman starting her career?

“Be curious. Don’t just look at your job for what it is on paper; be willing to take on other things outside of the job description. If you see something that is not working, fix it. Embrace your natural curiosity and find other ways to solve problems. Early in my career, I moved across different departments as my curiosity and desire to solve problems developed. Having that knowledge of different areas of a technology business – from development to support – allowed me to see the big picture which led to my success at running a company. That’s why here at Aderant we celebrate people moving as their curiosity grows and encourage different perspectives.”

We asked each Aderant office internationally to take a photo with all the women that work there, the results were outstanding – what’s your take on the female presence here at Aderant?

“At Aderant we celebrate diversity! Aderant is the most diverse place I’ve worked in my career, and our diversity, in general, is special. As diversity relates to women, we have women at all different levels, which is different from when my career started. I hope everyone feels they have a voice at the table and most importantly that they choose to use it.”