2008 Client Service Award: Vicki Huff

Ask Vicki Huff about her greatest personal or professional achievement and she responds: "Balancing demanding, industry-changing M&A transactions and motherhood at the same time." Huff, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, has never shied away from a challenge, either personally or professionally. "I find driving these game-changing M&A opportunities and being a mother are taking both my professional and personal achievements to a new level," she says. "As a woman, it is incredibly challenging to balance all of the expectations that we place on ourselves. I constantly have to remember to pull my head out of the details and see the forest for the trees. This is easier said than done, since women, including myself, often tend to every detail," she says. "This challenge is exponential when you become a mother and start facing the societal expectations of a mom. I've found it vitally important to remember what matters to you, your family and your company. I then attack every day to balance priorities between those key stakeholders."And Huff sure has plenty to balance. She is a member of PwC's U.S. Extended Leadership Team and the Global Emerging Leaders Task Force—a coalition of 20 emerging leaders from 12 countries who advise the firm's leadership on how best to handle issues arising from serving global clients. In that role, she serves as a relationship partner who helps guide the firm's alliance with a technology provider on a global basis. That alliance is supported by more than 100 PwC consultants and is on target to yield global revenues of $25 million. She is also a leader in the firm's technology industry practice, where she serves more than 100 clients ranging from startups to Global 25 companies, including global responsibilities for a Fortune 50 client in the technology sector.