Tara Morgan Schinkel and Kristy Mumma may have started their friendship as toddlers on the playground, but nobody could have imagined then that their friendship would evolve into the business partnership it is today.
Parallel and Entwined Lives
Yes, Tara and Kristy met as toddlers, when their parents moved in across the street from each other on the same day. Tara’s mom tried to flag down Kristy’s mom’s moving van and the rest is history. Since then, they have been running parallel and intersecting paths. Both attended local high schools (Tara to Chesapeake High School and Kristy to Severna Park Senior high). Both earned degrees from in-state colleges. Tara earned a B.S. in Accounting and Computer Science from University of Maryland and is a licensed CPA. Kristy earned a B.S. in Information Systems from the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus and, later, an MBA from the University of Baltimore. And both were avid athletes – even competing against each other in the sport of field hockey in college.
After college, both were drawn to technology professions. Kristy started her career as a network support engineer before becoming an IT consultant – and she never looked back. Tara started doing accounting work but quickly fell in love with accounting and ERP systems support. She was an intern at accounting and software services firm Stewart and Waddell when, in 1999, the company spun off its system support work to become a new company, Stewart Technologies. Tara followed.
Collaboration at Stewart Technologies
Tara joined the spin-off company as a tech consultant 25 years ago. Her love of business consulting, ERPs, accounting systems, and problem-solving compelled her to stay with the new company to exclusively provide accounting software and consulting services to Maryland businesses.
When Stewart Technologies needed to add IT support services to the mix, Tara instantly turned to childhood friend and expert IT consultant Kristy. She has always been inspired to simplify complex connections and integrations, making IT hassle-free for customers.
The two had complementary tech skills – and they were a natural fit of smart, competitive, collaborative women who like each other and love what they do.
Complementary Partnership
Tara invested into the company in 2004, Kristy followed in in 2009, Tara and Kristy became ownership partners at Stewart Technologies, later buying out the company’s founding partner in 2017. By then, they had fully solidified their friendship and leadership style, balancing each other to support their team and customers.
Today, Tara and Kristy are a strong partnership team with a shared commitment to solving customers’ workflow challenges with IT and accounting/ERP software solutions. Their complementary skills and experiences guide their collaboration to lead a strong and growing company.
And, yes, the competitive moms are both still active in sports and can regularly be found on sports fields – playing, coaching, and supporting their children.
