Although it is no longer unusual to find women in positions of authority inside the consulting profession, until this year, no woman has ever led a Big Five consulting firm
Gail Steinel, one of the founding members of Andersen's business consulting practice in the late '80s, is now at its helm. She was recently named global managing partner of the practice, which has more than 11,000 consultants worldwide. Revenue is projected to hit $2 billion in fiscal year 2001, ending August 31.
The New Jersey native was promoted at a time when the firm, formerly Arthur Andersen, was enjoying the highest percentage of women partners it has ever had. Twelve percent of partners are women, and three (including Steinel) sit on the leadership team.
Steinel joined Arthur Andersen's audit practice in 1979. She didn't expect to be at the firm for very long. "I was planning to do my two years, get my CPA, and move on. But as it turned out, the culture of the firm being very entrepreneurial, very client- and service-focused, has been something that fit me well," Steinel says.
In the early '80s, she worked with her audit clients on mergers and acquisitions. As she became more interested in operations, she gravitated toward the consulting business and helped start the New York practice. Andersen's business consulting practice in its present configuration was formed in 1994. Steinel's work in the technology, media, and communications industry practice set her up for a promotion to managing partner for New Economy strategies last year. She directed the firm's eBusiness initiatives related to strategy, skill-building, business-modeling and marketing. In January, she was named North America managing partner. About 25 percent of her time is spent with current and prospective clients, client project teams, or alliance partners.
Her rise has been steady, but Steinel didn't always see it that way. "I waited an extra year to become partner, and we all think that's the end of the world," says Steinel, who was named partner in 1991. Upset, she accepted an offer to leave. But her colleagues persuaded her to rethink her decision.
"I did some soul-searching about what I really liked to do," says Steinel, who has a reputation for being outspoken and frank. "I kept coming back to the thought that everything I like to do, I like to do here. So I actually called up and reneged on the other job and ended up staying with the firm. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I think many of us don't have an opportunity to really evaluate our careers. I concluded that I had everything right here and I might as well stay. And, I'm extremely grateful that's what I did."
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.