A Profession Remembers its Own

Fisher was one of dozens of consultants who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Their lives were cut short as they looked forward to life's milestones — marriage, children, promotions, and retirement. It's clear that many of them loved their jobs. In the following pages, we honor some of the lives lost with tributes from their colleagues.
Sadly, how they died underscores two constants in their profession — travel and being close to the client. Accenture lost 12 associates, five of whom were attending the Risk Waters Group conference at Windows on the World. Two of Keane's consultants were visiting clients at the World Trade Center, which also housed several departments of Aon Corporation. Of the 200 Aon employees who died, 19 were consultants.
PwC lost five people, all whom were on board three of the hijacked planes. Patrick J. Quigley, IV, 40, was a partner in the firm's management consulting services practice who recently transferred to the Boston office from San Jose. He lived in Wellesley, MA, with his wife, Patricia, who gave birth to their second daughter, Leah Marie last month, and 5-year-old daughter, Rachel. Quigley, who was killed in the United Airlines Flight 175 crash in New York, was traveling on client business.

More than 500 messages were posted on PwC's internal database about Quigley, who joined legacy firm Price Waterhouse in 1990 and was admitted as partner to PwC in 1999.
"How can I forget the person who gave me support when I was going through a difficult time with balancing job and family?" wrote one colleague. "How can I forget a person with whom I could have a candid 'father-to-father' chat discussing the difficulty of being a weekend dad to our five-year-old children? How can I forget the person who gave me professional opportunities and had faith in my abilities?"
In addition to Quigley, there were three from PwC's Audit and Business Advisory Services practice — Kelly Ann Booms and Jessica Leigh Sachs, who were associates, and Brian Kinney, a manager — and a partner from the firm's Tax and Legal Services consulting practice, Daniel Raymond Brandhorst, who was traveling with his three-year-old son, David.

Colleagues Remember

Terry was the kind of person that you wanted to know. He wasn't loud and he didn't promote himself. Although he had no previous consulting experience, Terry learned while working on Capitol Hill for Senator Shelby, the Intelligence Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Committee that it is easy to accomplish your agenda if you are willing to let other people take credit for it.

When Terry came to Booz-Allen two years ago, he applied the same skills he had learned on the Hill while working for his Army clients, quickly gaining their trust and confidence and the admiration of his fellow workers. He was the driver behind the concept for the Army's Web benefits model. The top leadership in the Army took special interest in Terry's work, and the team he was leading was having a real impact for soldiers and their families.

Nothing meant more to Terry than his family. He considered his wife Jackie his best friend, and although few people at Booz-Allen who knew Terry knew much of his accomplishments in his career before Booz-Allen, all of them knew of the accomplishments of his daughters, Tiffany and Ashley. He would share parenting experiences with his officemates and would often offer guidance to others who were trying to raise two teenage daughters.
If Terry ever had a bad day at Booz-Allen, no one knew it. When he asked, "How are you?", he really wanted to know. He was a genuine, unassuming, caring person. But the impact he had on people as individuals and the impact he had on the work for the Army will be what he's remembered most for.
(Lynch joined Booz-Allen two years ago.)

By John Mayer, Vice President, Booz-Allen & Hamilton

I knew Pat for about three years. I first met him when he moved to San Francisco to take over PwC Consulting's West Region Data Warehousing practice. In our first meeting, we discovered that Pat's wife, Patti, and I grew up less than a mile from each other in Massachusetts. This was the beginning of a relationship that went beyond work to a valued personal friendship between our families. It is difficult to communicate in a few words why so many others and I will miss Pat.

Maybe the best way to put it is that Pat seemed to recognize that all his accomplishments and successes, both personally and professionally, were not only a result of hard work and talent, but also of his strong relationships with others. Many of us recognize our dependence on other people to be successful. We all have to depend upon relationships in our work. Very few of us draw strength from these relationships at all levels and leave behind something that is better than before. Pat did. He treated everyone — clients, partners, staff, his family, and friends — as if they were all part of his quest to make himself and others successful. When working with a client, he was always impressive with his knowledge, creativity, and dedication to delivering value. He never highlighted his personal accomplishments — rather he always emphasized those of the team.

When building his business, it was always about getting his clients the right people and his people the right projects. The rest would take care of itself, and it did: He was responsible for the firm's data warehousing practice in the West growing over 200 percent in his two years here. When developing his staff, it was always about what was best for them to develop and grow, and not what was best for "the firm." He truly recognized that his people were his success.

With all this, Pat still was able to have a family life, which was both the motivator and reason for his professional successes. He understood that. In this business, the most difficult part of becoming "successful" is not sacrificing a successful family life for work success.
I will miss Pat for his professional talents, his friendship, and the standards he set for so many of us to aspire to.

By Steve Brown, Partner, PwC Consulting

David Suarez, 24, Consultant,
Deloitte Consulting, Chadds Ford, PA

David was my colleague and my friend. He joined Deloitte Consulting two years ago as a systems analyst and was recently promoted to consultant. David loved his work and contributed to all areas of the practice. He mentored his colleagues and challenged them to reach their potential.

David was recently accepted into Deloitte's Graduate Program to sponsor his graduate school education, and he hoped to earn an MBA at Harvard. In memory of David, Deloitte Consulting, along with David's family, will be sponsoring a scholarship in his name at Penn State University.
David loved life. He was an avid runner and enjoyed sailing. He gave back to the community by volunteering for charitable organizations, reading books to underprivileged children, assisting at food shelters, and restoring parks. He was a truly extraordinary person.

During the past year, David worked on the Marsh, Inc., Oracle Financials implementation project. He was a key member of the Accounts Payable team and also offered support to the General Ledger and Consolidation teams. It was inspiring to watch David with partners and client senior management. They would approach him for his opinion and expertise. They genuinely wanted his perspective on Oracle functionality, on project management, and on business processes. He was their trusted sounding board.

On Monday, September 10, David and I went out to lunch in Battery Park and we talked about many things. He was proud of the work he had done on his graduate school essays. We talked about a paper we were writing for the Oracle Apps World conference and how exciting it would be to have something published. We were looking forward to our roles on our next engagement. And, of course, we laughed, as we always did when we were together.

(Suarez was working at the World Trade Center at the time of the tragedies.)

By Rory Copenhaver, Manager, Deloitte Consulting

Richard Ross, 58,
President/CEO, The Ross Group, Newton, MA

I met Richard Ross through the Association of Management Consulting Firms in 1996. He and I worked very closely throughout 1997 in preparing the details for the association's annual fall meeting. Richard was one of the hardest-working, most dedicated individuals I have ever met. Through his efforts, the meeting was recognized as one of the best ever. He had the ability to make those around him look very good. He was resourceful and was able to think "out-of-the-box."

Richard was a man who never met a stranger and treated everyone as a friend and respected associate. He did not look for the spotlight, but rather focused attention on others. Throughout my association with him, I never heard him say a disparaging word about anyone. When faced with adversity, he became very resourceful and began looking for opportunities.

Those who were lucky enough to know him and work with him will remember Richard as a tireless worker who always had time to go the extra mile to help a friend or coworker in need.
Richard will be dearly missed by the consulting industry and by many individuals who considered him a friend.

(Ross was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the World Trade Center.)

By W. Coby Frampton, CMC, President, Charles Brooks Associates, Inc., Charlotte, NC

Ernest M. Willcher, 62, Associate,
Booz-Allen & Hamilton, McLean, VA

Although he was relatively new to Booz-Allen, Ernie had already endeared himself to us. Much to the amusement of his nearby colleagues, we became aware that this modest, white-haired, compact-in-stature, smartly dressed, deliberate man appeared to have a love affair with the printers on the 11th floor of the Allen building. Known as the "printer guy," Ernie's old-fashioned courtliness and ready smile that drew you in — and you wanted to be near him.

We were all struck by Ernie's love for his family, work, and the Army. Ernie warmly and frequently talked about his wife of 23 years, Shirley, and their two sons, Benjamin and Joel. His pride and excitement when talking about them were obvious.

We believe Ernie felt that we were his "family," too. Typically the first at the office, he would climb seven floors before catching the elevator to the eleventh floor. He aspired to climb all eleven, but it didn't matter to us. We were content to root for and celebrate Ernie's weekly progress toward his goal. Despite this grueling morning ritual, Ernie would make the coffee, greet everyone warmly, and ask us how we were doing.
During his years of federal service, Ernie earned a law degree from Washington College of Law at American University at night while he was working for the Army, to complement his business degree from the University of Maryland. For 20 years, Ernie worked as a civilian specialist with the United States Army Map Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Fort Detrick, and then the Army General Counsel's office in the Pentagon. While in the General Counsel's office, Ernie was known as the "go-to guy" for matters related to civilian personnel and ethics.
At Booz-Allen, Ernie was a critical player in the development of a Web-based benefits tool that would assist soldiers with their retirement and financial planning. Fundamentally, Ernie wanted to help people — specifically, the Army — and was not interested in the trappings of power and money that tend to consume some of us.
As you may be able to tell by this point, Ernie was a disciplined and serious guy who adhered to certain rituals. We were accustomed to seeing Ernie always dressed in a white shirt, jacket, and tie that was slightly too short. That Tuesday there was a change. Ernie arrived in a handsome new blue suit, blue shirt, and new tie. He looked great, and the team immediately recognized the change and complimented him on his new wardrobe.
Always the consummate gentleman, he graciously thanked us and turned to go — and we wanted to be near him.

(Willcher had joined Booz-Allen in May.)

By Lloyd Howell, Vice President, Booz-Allen & Hamilton.

A Client in Need of Compassion and Caring

Quickly-accessed talent may be one reason so many members of the profession found themselves on the frontlines of the "tragedy's aftermath," but more than that, most consultants who volunteered their time describe an unyielding desire to help.

It was 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, three days after the attack on the World Trade Center. Accenture Partner David Moskovitz was sitting in his midtown Manhattan office when he received a call. It was a representative from Mayor Rudolph Guiliani's office asking if he would come down to the state armory on 25th Street in two hours.
The Armory was being used as a family assistance center — a primary resource facility for relatives and friends of those missing in the disaster. But with an overwhelming turnout of family members seeking information about the more than 6,000 missing persons, the city was quickly outgrowing it. The mayor wanted to relocate the center to a 130,000-square-foot building on Pier 94 in Manhattan.
"Our real mission was to take this very barren pier building and make it a compassionate and caring facility that would be a positive place to support these families," Moskovitz says. And, it had to be ready within 72 hours.
There were several reasons why the city turned to Moskovitz and Accenture, a firm it had worked with in the past, for help.

The 43-year-old professional, who is responsible for Accenture's government practice in New York City and New York state, had spent more than a decade working for the city, the last four of which as deputy commissioner for facilities and technical services. He understood what it took to get a facility like this up and operational.
Minutes after terrorists hijacked four commercial planes and crashed them into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, emergency personnel around the country sprang into action. But it did not take very long for many American companies, several consulting firms among them, to volunteer their services and financial support. (See chart.)
"Not everybody is going to be able to crawl among the girders trying to look for survivors," says Michael Drapkin, CEO of XB5, a boutique consulting firm in New York. XB5 established a consortium to provide business and information technology management assistance to companies devastated by the attacks. "All of us are very good at working for companies that do triage, fix problems, and get things going. If we could go in there and help some companies that got caught in this disaster, it'd be better for all of us in the long run."
After Cap Gemini Ernst & Young determined that all of its employees working in lower Manhattan were safe, it started contacting displaced companies to offer them temporary space in its Advanced Development Center.
The facility, which is located six blocks away from the World Trade Center, can accommodate up to 250 people, says Ken Nowack, CGEY's vice president and New York director. Many took CGEY up on its offer, and within a week, the center, which includes a Web design shop, was more than 75 percent full.

When the United Way started the September 11 Fund to help victims' families, it called on McKinsey & Co. to assist with the logistics. The McKinsey team helped create a technological infrastructure to accept donations and governance of fund distribution, and with basic systems such as a database to record contributions and provide donors with receipts for income-tax purposes.
Around the country, groups of Andersen employees tried to help in any way they could. The Boston practice canceled a celebratory dinner for 25-year partners and donated the funding to the families of victims, while newly-admitted partners in the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Gulf states contributed the money traditionally spent to celebrate their admission. And several employees in metro New York, who are performers on the side, are involved with a Broadway theater group which assists schools in grief counseling for children.
Between 250 and 300 Accenture employees signed up with Moskovitz's team, after a 6:00 a.m. voice-mail went out seeking volunteers. Over the weekend, they worked in shifts around the clock, many of them knowing that the firm was missing 12 of their colleagues.

"I think it was difficult but very helpful for people to have an avenue to be involved and do something constructive to help," says Moskovitz. "We were obviously very focused in getting the family center up, but we would stop and think and say we wished we didn't have to do this at all."
Accenture's role was to project-manage the effort. It worked with the various city agencies and organizations that would support the families and oversaw the technology companies, including Cisco Systems, Verizon, and AOL Time Warner, which set up the phone system and data networks and installed computers.

Within 24 hours, a space plan had been laid out, furniture and supplies had been ordered, and the carpet vendor had begun laying down the carpet. Because this had to be done over a weekend, their ingenuity got things done. American flags were difficult to find that weekend, so members got them through the Intrepid Museum and Yankee and Shea Stadiums, and staked out a flag manufacturer awaiting a delivery.
"We got to the point where we didn't have linens for the tables for the families' waiting area, so we sent people out to the hotels to negotiate with the banquet directors to give us 100 linens," says Moskovitz.
The new center made its target Monday-morning opening. But Moskovitz, who had worked through Sunday night, wasn't there. Needed at home, he had left at 7 a.m. to take his daughter to kindergarten.