Interviews
- »One on One with Ed Hess
Grow or Die. It’s probably the most common business axiom, and the least accurate, according to the new book “Smart Growth: Building an Enduring Business by Managing the Risks of Growth” (Columbia Business School Publishing). To better understand the book’s implications for firms, Consulting’s One-on-One sat down with the book’s author, Ed Hess, a former Arthur Andersen strategy consultant and current professor at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business.
- »One on One with Summit's David Litherland
When prospective employees interview for a job, they obsess over making a good, lasting impression. Firms should do the same. To learn how firms can avoid typical pitfalls, Consulting’s One on One sat down with David Litherland, managing partner of Summit Search Group, an executive search firm specializing in placing professionals within professional service firms.
- »One on One with PwC's Tom Craren
Senior executives are becoming immune to traditional marketing. Marketing consultants tell us that to pierce through the white noise of corporate communication, firms should consider “content marketing”. Instead of more traditional marketing, providing valuable insight and perspective in a blog or electronic newsletter can serve as a more effective door opener. One of the best examples is PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “10-Minute” series. For almost three years, PwC has boiled down complex thought leadership into small electronic pieces an executive can read in about ten minutes. To learn more about PwC’s marketing efforts, Consulting’s One-on-One sat down with Tom Craren, the firm’s brand strategy and thought leadership leader. His team of 20 writers produces between two to three 10-minute pieces each month, along with more detailed white papers.
- »One on One with Stanford Hospital's Kate Surman
Transitioning healthcare companies from paper to electronic records presents huge consulting opportunities.
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2009
»Top 25 Consultants, 2009: Jacqueline Olynyk
 Jacqueline Olynyk
Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Excellence in Technology
Not a lot of consulting practices grew 61 percent in 2008, but Pricewaterhouse Coopers SAP Advisory Services practice did. And Jacqueline Olynyk, a
partner with the firm and national leader of the SAP Advisory Practice, has set an ambitious goal of doubling the practice again over the next 12 months. Pretty ambitious given this economic climate. And what’s the thinking behind such unbridled optimism?
When IBM bought PwC Consulting at the end of 2002, much of the firm’s implementation business went with it. Because of non-compete agreements, PwC was restricted from performing certain types of implementation services for five years. Those restrictions were gone at the end of 2007.
“It really comes down to us being a fresh entrant into the field,” Olynyk says. “PwC has a really good brand so clients that have engaged us for other work are finding new ways to work with us.”
Since the end of 2007, Olynyk says PwC has been busy hiring, acquiring and “building up the skill sets of those people who have worked very specifically in the SAP and enterprise applications world.” As a result, the practice has grown to about 1,500
consultants globally.
Olynyk, who has been with PwC for 25 years, says right now clients are looking for smaller projects with more measurable results. “There used to be a focus on straight cost cutting, but now the focus is on finding a way to cut costs that’s sustainable over the long term,” Olynyk says. “We’re seeing a lot of clients looking to transform the way they’re doing things; they’re looking to optimize by bringing together diverse units and standardizing their technology processes globally.”
In addition, she says clients are looking for greater transparency for everyday users—not just the super user, allowing the end user to be able to get more meaning out of the data. “That’s a trend and we’re really excited about,” she says. “PwC was away from technology consulting for awhile, and [the Top 25 Consultants award] is great for the firm. It says we are not only back in the space, but we are—once again—building up a leadership role.”
—Joseph Kornik
>> Full list of Top 25 Consultants 2009
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