In honor of Women’s History Month in March, the Colorado Chamber is recognizing female business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, and job creators who have grown their businesses from the ground up and are core to our local Colorado communities.
Today’s feature is Kerry Siggins with StoneAge, Inc.
Kerry Siggins is the Chief Executive Officer of StoneAge, a company that designs and manufactures high-pressure water blasting tools and automated equipment for the industrial cleaning industry.
Siggins grew ip on the Western Slope in Montrose, Colorado. Her mother helped shape who she is today and was one of her biggest inspirations growing up.
“She is the hardest working person I know, and I watched her put in endless hours to ensure my brother and I had a good life,” Siggins said. “In fact, when I was 12 years old, she decided to go back to college to get a teaching degree and drove 60 miles each way to attend college while maintaining two jobs. It was incredible to watch, and it taught me that I could do anything if I put in the effort.”
Siggins became determined to put her head down and do everything she could to get into the Colorado School of Mines for college – a highly-rated engineering school based in Golden. She earned a softball scholarship to Mines and graduated in 2001, after which she moved to Austin, Texas where she started her career in manufacturing operations working for Eaton Corporation. Working at Eaton helped her find her love for people management and the complex world of manufacturing and engineering operations.
Siggins has been very open about her struggles to get to where she is today in the hopes that it will inspire future leaders and help them overcome obstacles.
“After graduating from college, I was lost. From a career perspective, I knew I didn’t want to be an engineer, but I didn’t know who I was or what kind of job I wanted,” Siggins said. “Feeling useless, I developed substance abuse issues. My drug issues, ever-present, diminished my effectiveness and almost took me down. In 2006, I decided enough was enough. I knew I had potential and could live a more fulfilling, successful life, so I moved back to a rural town in Colorado to start over, once again.”
When she got to Durango, she applied for jobs posted in the local newspaper. StoneAge was looking for a General Manager, and even though she thought she was under qualified, she applied anyways. The co-founders saw something in her – potential, drive, smarts, and a positive attitude – so they took a risk and hired her. Siggins was only 28 years old.
“It’s a crazy story and one that still makes me shake my head today,” Siggins said about her journey to StoneAge. “I am forever grateful for the opportunity.”
Siggins’ advice for aspiring female business owners is to build a team that will support and inspire.
“Be relentless in building the team you need to get to the next level. Develop and invest in your employees. It’s one of the most important aspects of your role as a leader and also one of the most impactful,” said Siggins.
Siggins has a growing reputation as a top executive in Colorado. She was a finalist for Colorado’s CEO of the Year in 2017 and was named a Top Influential CEO in 2021. Her company, StoneAge, is currently named a top 100 company to work for by Outside Magazine and was recently named in the Real Leaders 200 Top Impact Companies list of 2022. StoneAge recently acquired Medium One, an Internet of Things (IoT) cloud platform, meaning physical objects are embedded with technology to connect with other systems over the internet.
In addition to being a successful CEO, Siggins is also an author, blogger, and podcaster. She also was recently featured in the ProCO360 podcast, hosted by the Chamber’s Dave Tabor.
Learn more about Kerry Siggins on her website at www.kerrysiggins.com.
You can connect with Kerry Siggins on Linkedin here.
Learn more about StoneAge, Inc. by visiting their website at www.stoneagetools.com
StoneAge, Inc.’s Social Media Pages:
The Colorado Chamber is committed to promoting an inclusive state economy and diverse workforce, fostering economic opportunity for all. We appreciate our partnership with minority-owned businesses across Colorado and will continue to work with these job creators on state and federal policies that impact minority employers and their employees.
Resources:
Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce
Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce
Small Business Administration: Women-owned business resources
U.S. Chamber: 10 Resources for Women-Owned Businesses
Colorado Office of Economic Development: Minority Business Office of Colorado
Colorado Minority Owned Business Directory