Some might consider Sandy Shirai a glutton for punishment. Taking on the messiest, ugliest projects — the bitterly contested HP-Compaq merger, the record-setting MCI WorldCom bankruptcy, and the creation of the sprawling Dept. of Homeland Security with its merger of 22 different agencies — can't really be fun. "It's like watching fires; it's hard to stop," she says about her addiction to the gnarliest projects. Shirai relishes being involved in big, controversial, bet-the-company engagements, and clearly she can pull them off. Where other consultants spend the overwhelming part of their time and energy in search of the perfect answer to the problem, Shirai takes the more practical approach of just figuring out how to get the job done. It may not be the perfect solution, but it works. Once considered a geek, a technologist, today she sees herself as a diplomat — someone who says what needs to be heard, even when it is likely to be unpopular, but still is able to get other people to go along.
At HP, for example, Shirai assembled a 2,000-person team to tackle the integration of different cultures from what had been two aggressive competitors. Her team managed to cut $3.5 billion in annual costs by the end of the first year on the project, $1 billion more and a year sooner than had been expected. Her work on that engagement attracted an invitation from former Compaq CEO Michael Capellas to assist MCI WorldCom, where he was then CEO. There she helped the company work through its bankruptcy, the largest in U.S. history, by leading a team of 1,500 people in establishing financial controls. Her successes there brought Shirai to the attention of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, which had to merge 22 federal agencies into a single entity that was committed to defending against terrorist attacks — a task requiring diplomacy if ever there was one. Every project, no matter how messy, brings its moment of exhilaration, which makes it all worthwhile for Shirai. That moment comes, often in the aftermath of the latest crisis, when you finally realize that everything will, indeed, work out as anticipated.
Whatever the magnitude of the professional challenge of the moment, Shirai, who was pregnant during her work on the HP-Compaq merger and is now the mother of a 21-month-old daughter, manages to maintain a balance of work and personal life. Following a lifelong interest in dance, she continues with ballet and even manages to find time to take classes when traveling. Her success at achieving work/life balance, more than any individual professional achievements — as well as a passion for client service — led to her recent appointment as Deloitte's managing director for San Francisco. — A.R.
© 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.