The Top 25 Most Influential Consultants 2004 - William Goodyear, Chairman and CEO, Navigant Consulting, Inc.

Seeing the "need for catalytic action," Goodyear, who was at the top of a 30-year banking career, accepted. He led the $400 million company through a tough period of restructuring, bringing the 2,200-employee payroll down to 1,200. Putting a focus on its core specialties — energy, healthcare, and the financial services — he sold 22 of the firm's previously purchased acquisitions as part of a rationalization effort. By fourth quarter 2000, run-rate revenues were down to $200 million.

In the past four years, the NCI firm has made at least six acquisitions — not including its 2002 purchase of consulting units from two other beleaguered companies, Arthur D. Little and Arthur Andersen — and is now pursuing a growth strategy, Goodyear says.
"If you look back four years, we started with a chaotic situation," Goodyear notes. "We needed to first stabilize the company and then identify long-term, sustainable strategies for value creation. That was a large drink of water at the time, but we were able to do that."
The firm is starting to see the fruits of its hard work. NCI's valuation has increased to $1 billion, with the stock increasing in value from about $5 in early 2003 to a current value of nearly $20. Headcount is back up to approximately 1,900. The acquisitions will continue, Goodyear says, and remain a part of the company's growth strategy. The firm is poised to take advantage of the regulatory environment in its core specialties as well.
Goodyear transformed the organization from a holding-company model to its self-described "one-company" platform. NCI's subsidiaries, along with their cultures and brand identities, were integrated into the larger company in order to have a consistent approach to market, one compensation system, and one set of ownership guidelines, Goodyear adds. This approach is providing the company with its critical mass operating platform.
In his spare time, the CEO serves on a number of boards for professional and civic organizations, including Rush Hospital, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the University of Notre Dame. He is a member of the Financial Council of the Archdiocese of Chicago. After being asked which of the activities he is most passionate about, Goodyear gave an answer that perhaps could be taken as the mantra for his life: "Hopefully, all of them. If you aren't passionate about the mission of an organization, then you shouldn't get involved."