KIMBERLY CRAY
Kurt Salmon Associates
Manager
Age: 27

Kimberly Cray joined Kurt Salmon Associates in 2002 right out of Northwestern University where she was a computer science major. After just three years at KSA, she was promoted to manager, two years ahead of the firm’s usual career progression. Now, at age 27, she is a leader in the firm’s growth and profitability practice where she has designed and implemented strategic improvements in processes, organizations and technologies focused on the retail, apparel and footwear supply chain.


For the past year, she has been working with a vice president in charge of a massive cycle-time reduction for a multi-billion-dollar retailer. Together, they are leading a team that is improving speed to market by 50 percent. “Coming out of school, I knew I didn’t want to be on the technology side, and I really wasn’t interested in programming for a career,” Cray says. “So, I started thinking about different options, and consulting really appealed to me. Originally, I was working in KSA’s technology practice, but I love the retail side of the business.” What she loves most about the merchandising practice, she says, is the consumer perspective. “At the end of the day, all the product that gets delivered to the store is going to end up in front of a consumer,” Cray says. “What message does the brand deliver?” One of the great things about KSA, she says, is the time devoted to implementing change at a client. “It’s not just about us saying what we think a client should do, but rather, here’s how we’re going to help you do it.”

So, what’s next for Cray? “I plan to stay with the firm,” she says. “From day one, I’ve had meaningful client interactions and a lot of responsibility. I think that’s part of the reason my career has moved forward. And, I’m really excited about what we’re working on right now,” she added, specifically in the area of environmental sustainability. She is heading up KSA’s effort to develop a Green Index, a metric to identify the most environmentally responsible companies. KSA plans to roll out the Green Index this year.

---

RACHEL R. MICHAEL
Marsh USA
Vice President of Consulting
Age: 29

Few consultants hold a master’s degree in industrial ergonomics. Fewer hold gold medals in a competition requiring  a combination of skiing and target shooting. Both would describe Rachel R. Michael, vice president of consulting at Marsh. Ergonomics is basically a productivity tool used to boost efficiencies in human performance. When companies get it right, they will see increased productivity and quality of work, Michael says. “Basically, we’re called in to create job designs that improve employee performance,” she says. “Clients engage us to do traditional engineering and safety, but we bring additional value in providing sustainable results to client-valued metrics.”

An example, she says, would be a hospital wanting its nurses to have more time with patients. “I can take an approach that looks at how the nurse travels through the day, what products are touched and overall process flow.” In other industries, she says, “I pinpoint mismatches between system elements and potential human performance.”

And earning a gold medal from the Utah winter games,
Michael knows a thing or two about human performance. “People find it ironic that I’m a consultant, and I ski around a mountain with a loaded rifle,” she says. “But I must have speed, accuracy and skill to excel, and that’s exactly what I do for clients.”

---

SARA MANNING
The Monitor Group
Case Team Leader
Age: 26

Sara Manning is a people person. Specifically, how people fit into organizational structure. She spends the majority of her client-facing time tacking the challenge of how employees are utilized within the framework of a company. “A lot of business comes down to understanding people and how they fit into an organization,” she says. “I consider myself lucky that I get to address these people issues every day. That’s what I’m most passionate about.”

She’s so committed to organizational design that she’s in the process of applying to business school full-time to get her MBA in organizational behavior. “After business school I’d like to come back to consulting full-time at Monitor,” she says. “But I’d like to focus on executive development through the lens of experiential learning. One of the things that I enjoy about this job is the chance to work closely with clients and coach them on how they can be effective in their roles.”

Manning’s work has been recognized both by clients and her supervisors at Monitor. For four consecutive years, Manning has earned the highest possible ranking at her year-end review in both the areas of performance, work she’s done with clients and trajectory, her future potential. “I’ve always though of it as building a brand for yourself,” Manning says. “And I’ve always tried to make sure that the brand I’m building is a positive one.”