{"id":649,"date":"2017-03-30T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T13:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=649"},"modified":"2017-03-30T12:35:11","modified_gmt":"2017-03-30T16:35:11","slug":"elizabeth-rotundo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=649","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Rotundo"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Following in the Family Footsteps<\/h1>\n<p><em>By Riley Bunch | Photography by <a href=\"http:\/\/mgjohnsonphotography.com\" target=\"_blank\">Mary Grace Johnson<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>When Elizabeth Rotundo was 4 years old, she often lent a hand at her father\u2019s office. Between different odd jobs fit for a little girl, she would mention to staff members that one day, she would be the boss there.<\/p>\n<p>In 2014, Elizabeth\u2019s prophecy came true.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>At the age of 28 \u2014 the same age her father was when he started the company in 1983 \u2014 Elizabeth purchased CME Associates, Inc., becoming president of the family-owned business.<\/p>\n<p>Now, paving the way for women in a male-dominated industry, Elizabeth has adapted to increasingly technological times, while maintaining core values her father instilled in her.<\/p>\n<p>The company works on construction sites to provide materials, evaluation and technical support to owners and professionals. The engineering firm is responsible for ensuring building sites are fit for specified projects, and building materials are up to construction codes and standards.<\/p>\n<p>When she was a child, Elizabeth saw the challenges of running your own business firsthand. Her father often came home at the end of the day exhausted and consumed with work. Pondering one day taking over her father\u2019s company initially made her nervous, Elizabeth admitted. But with that apprehension came another important lesson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember driving home from school one day, my dad said, \u2018What do you want to do when you go to college?\u2019\u201d Elizabeth recalled. \u201cWhen I answered with being unsure, he said, \u2018Whatever you do, you should be your own boss.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After college, Elizabeth took the position of human resource manager at CME. As time progressed, she took on more responsibility and her father began to work from home more often. Eventually, she became the executive vice president. She realized being a business owner wasn\u2019t as intimidating as she once thought, and officially took the reins from her father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople really embraced it,\u201d Elizabeth said. \u201cEveryone was congratulating me, telling me they supported my father for this long, and they would support me, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Becoming president didn\u2019t come without challenges. Elizabeth worried about facing backlash as a woman taking an important role in a predominantly male industry. The company\u2019s technical managers \u2014 most of them older men \u2014 had decades of experience in the field. Luckily, her fears were soon quelled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t have asked for a better team, honestly,\u201d Elizabeth said. \u201cMost of those people [working here] when I took over are still here. All of those men are very supportive of me and very helpful to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another initial worry was competition from other local businesses, Elizabeth explained. But thanks to Governor Cuomo\u2019s promotion of women-owned businesses, collaborative opportunities have changed the way CME interacts with potential rivals. Instead of bidding against each other for projects, CME and similar companies have begun teaming up to provide clients with extensive services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s opened up opportunities to work with companies in different ways,\u201d Elizabeth said.<\/p>\n<p>Her family remains her strongest support system. While her father acts as an adviser, Elizabeth makes the final decisions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen my dad was telling me about taking over the company, he really taught me about being honest, and how much risk is too much risk,\u201d Elizabeth said.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth has implemented new programs to best serve clients\u2019 needs. The company\u2019s use of onsite technology to gather and present findings to contractors \u2014 rather than traditional paper forms \u2014 has made CME a pioneer in the industry. Elizabeth and her employees pride themselves on a quick report turnaround, so the building process can start as soon as their team steps off the site.<\/p>\n<p>Looking forward to the future, Elizabeth said it\u2019s important to her to keep the company in the family. She hopes the legacy her father passed to her will one day be carried on by her own children. But she doesn\u2019t have plans to leave CME anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long do I want to run it? I could run it forever,\u201d Elizabeth said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t mind.\u201d <em>SWM <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>To learn more about CME Associates, Inc., visit <a href=\"http:\/\/cmeassociates.com\" target=\"_blank\">cmeassociates.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following in the Family Footsteps By Riley Bunch | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson When Elizabeth Rotundo was 4 years old, she often lent a hand at her father\u2019s office. Between different odd jobs fit for a little girl, she would mention to staff members that one day, she would be the boss there. In&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[172,200,199,160,159],"class_list":["post-649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-april-2017","tag-cme-associates","tag-elizabeth-rotundo","tag-mary-grace-johnson","tag-riley-bunch"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_Inspire2_ONLINE.jpg?fit=5200%2C3408&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":707,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=707","url_meta":{"origin":649,"position":0},"title":"Janie Goddard","author":"Staff","date":"April 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A Journey Home By Riley Bunch | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson\u00a0 Janie Goddard discovered her passion for business on her eighth-grade school bus. 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Her nearly 20 years as a certified human resources professional armed her with all the skills she\u2019d need to start her own coaching business, EB Professional Coaching, specializing in energy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Elizabeth-Bessey-0007.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Elizabeth-Bessey-0007.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Elizabeth-Bessey-0007.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Elizabeth-Bessey-0007.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":542,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=542","url_meta":{"origin":649,"position":2},"title":"Karen DeJarnette","author":"Staff","date":"February 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Empowering Women in the Workforce By Riley Bunch | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson\u00a0 For 2016 Syracuse Woman of the Year Karen DeJarnette, it\u2019s all about the big picture. Her day-to-day life consists of putting puzzle pieces together to help organizations be competitive in the marketplace and individuals achieve necessary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Karen-DeJarnette_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Karen-DeJarnette_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Karen-DeJarnette_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Karen-DeJarnette_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Karen-DeJarnette_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1091,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1091","url_meta":{"origin":649,"position":3},"title":"Mona Smart &#038; Diane Pluff","author":"Staff","date":"September 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hope to Hear By Riley Bunch | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson\u00a0 For the first five years of her twin daughters\u2019 lives, Mona Smart had no idea they were living with a hearing disability. 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