Consulting: Cliff was recognized as one of Consulting magazine's Seven Small Jewels in 2008. Where's the firm today?

Nasatir: We were, at the time, about 12 consultants and a little under $3 million in revenue. As you know, we have a little bit of a different model. We're small by choice, and we're really not interested in a lot of growth. Having said that, we have grown a bit since the Small Jewels recognition in 2008. We have 15 core consultants with us right now and a few more out there under the Cliff Consulting banner. This is the biggest we've ever been, and I don't think we'll get any bigger. When I took over as president [in 2008], the firm was just under $3 million, and we'll be at about $4.5 million in 2012. So, overall, we've grown revenue about 50 percent since 2008.

Consulting: How is your business doing right now?

Nasatir: We do a lot of work in the compliance and in the merger & acquisition space. M&A seems to happen in both good times and down times. But right now there is so much work in compliance—especially in financial services and healthcare, the industries where we do the majority of our work. We're as busy as ever. As you know, we have a senior model and clients love the fact that we bring in very senior people on the project. At most firms, this level of senior talent would cost two to three times what we cost. So, our clients—and especially procurement—like that. And procurement also is focused on working with minority and women-owned businesses so that's an extra-added bonus some of our clients are excited about. In fact, half of our staff are women, so we're very unique in that respect. Two of our women—Carol Piette and Suzanne Stuart—have actually been with the firm for more than 30 years. I've only been here 25 years. But Carol and Suzanne have taken on many leadership roles in the firm. They work with me on the day-to-day operations, and they are very involved in the recruiting and hiring process and represent a significant part of the leadership of the firm.

One on One with Cliff Consulting's Robin Nasatir

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