Top 10 Consultants

 "You think after a while it would get easier because you feel as though you've seen everything, but it's getting harder because competitors are adaptable and they adapt to changing sources of competitive advantage," explains Stalk.

One of consulting's new quick-adapting competitors is e-commerce consultancy Scient, today headed by Bob Howe, a former Booz partner, who is also counted as one of our Top Ten Consultants.

"I think there will always be a set of boardroom strategic issues that CEOs and business managers will require insight and help on, but what they are now also requiring is greater speed," says Howe.

After more than two decades in the same profession, the two consultants remain as unique as the clients they serve. And together with our eight other top consultants, they underscore the myriad of conflicting visions, management styles, and personalities that today energize the consulting profession. – The Editor

George Shaheen

Before delivering a speech at a recent dinner gathering, George Shaheen confessed to having forgotten his notes back at his seat. Staring back at his notes across the room, Andersen Consulting's managing partner and chief executive remarked, "That's how bold I've become since my laser eye surgery."

Shaheen's words captured laughs and led some to ponder whether the man, known for both his drive and his obstinacy, may have shared not just a joke but a cleverly concealed admonition. Hint: The executive whose foresight transformed the consulting profession in the 1990s has just enhanced his vision.

After successfully riding the reengineering wave for the first half of the 1990s and capturing new growth from various enterprise technology practices in the second half, the man many credit for having reinvented the consulting profession is busy once more transforming his firm. This time, the target is a groundswell of consulting opportunities surrounding e-business, and the plan is to plant Andersen squarely in the middle.

"It's a repeat act!" says reengineering guru James Champy, who credits Andersen with hijacking the reengineering concept in early the 1990s. This was a wise strategic move, Champy notes, although he claims it has done little to augment Andersen's thought-leadership credentials.

Will Shaheen successfully maneuver Andersen to the center of the e-commerce space? Without a doubt, according to Andersen admirers and rivals. And it's for that reason that the 54-year-old consultant continues to be one of the profession's primal forces.

"What is scarce among top management is an executive who can create energy and enthusiasm, and that's what Shaheen does brilliantly at Andersen," says David Maister, a former Harvard Business School professor, who today advises some of largest professional services firms.

It's that same energy Shaheen has used to rally Andersen partners behind a proposed split off from accounting firm Arthur Andersen. After a decade during which Andersen enjoyed fivefold growth, neither clinging sibling companies nor laser surgery will stand between Shaheen and his limitless vision.

Scott Hartz

Think of it as a task commensurate with painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel — a time-consuming creative endeavor through which many mutually exclusive pieces have been unified as one.  Whatever the metaphor, the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand is no mere exercise in M&A strategy.

"But when will it be done?" is the thorny question that industry pundits and rivals love to ask.

All eyes fall upon Scott Hartz. As global managing partner for PwC's management consulting services, Hartz is today recognized as the critical point-person behind the global union. The 51-year-old consultant is now charged with extracting the kernels of strategic value originally promised by the PwC union — a feat requiring Hartz's diplomatic skills just as much as his managerial ones.

The task is enormous. 1,800 partners, 50 countries, and $6 billion in consulting revenues are all part of the complex union that promises to convert PwC's competitive field into a truly global arena.

No stranger to the challenges faced by global organizations, Hartz is already credited with helping Price Waterhouse convert from country manager style to a global structure back in 1996. Perhaps not as well known is the strategic role Hartz played in helping turn around PW's Japan consulting practice, or his spearheading of the firm's entry into the SAP market back in the early 1990s. 

Asked what, if any, revelations the merger process has provided, Hartz confides: "It took a while to appreciate how much of a richer mix of talent we now have, and how different an organization we are today. I've been particularly impressed with some of Coopers' industry-specific knowledge base."

One year after headlines disclosed that the two consultancies had completed tying the knot, most merger watchers are still asking the question few people seem qualified to answer.

Again, all eyes fall upon Hartz. With PwC consulting revenue growth projected to be in excess of 30 percent for the first ten months following the merger's completion, PwC's Hartz appears to have the answers.

George Stalk

The year is 1999, Daimler-Benz and Chrysler are one, Ford Motor Company is on the offensive, and George Stalk Jr. of the Boston Consulting Group is headed back to Japan.

Nearly 20 years after Stalk first began gathering insights into how Japanese rapid product development had turned time into a strategic weapon, the man often described as the father of time-based competition believes the Japanese may once again be up to something.

"We have not had a major competitive insight out of Japan for ten years, and it's hard for us to believe that's true, so I'm going back on a special assignment to do basically what I did in the '80s, which is to look for pattern recognition, and say: 'Come on guys, what is Toyota up to?'" says Stalk, who lived in Japan from 1980 to 1985 and now plans to return in August for a number of weeks.

Part of what the 48-year-old consultant is now hoping to find out is whether Japanese companies have begun capturing deeper insights into consumer behavior.

"The advantage of [consumer insights] has historically been a Western [one] as opposed to a Japanese [one]," said Stalk, who is today busy nurturing a number of embryonic ideas on the subject for BCG, where he is now a senior vice president.

But is "time" relevant in this new world of consumerism? "Yes," says Stalk, but only as it relates to how new consumer insights are being brought into organizations — an approach to business he credits a colleague with having dubbed "the speed of adaptability."

For his part, Stalk does not believe that his search for answers will end in Japan this time.

"I'm expecting in the next four to five years to become an organizational specialist as I continue to follow this to its logical conclusion." At BCG, such a conclusion can mean only one thing: the creation of yet another unfair competitive advantage and some more thought leadership from George Stalk.

Michael J. Wolf

As tragic events unfold in America's schoolyards, new fears are shaping the American mindscape. They are fears rooted in the belief that of all the outside forces influencing the world's population,  none are as powerful or as ubiquitous as those discharged from the entertainment industry.

Today, no one understands the awesome power of entertainment better than Michael J. Wolf, a senior partner at Booz-Allen Hamilton, who advises clients on how to harness entertainment's unruly power. Nearly a decade ago, Wolf established the Booz's media and entertainment practice. Since then, he has dutifully helped the unit grow to represent close to 20 percent of the firm's annual revenue.

Wolf's notoriety is only partly due to building a successful practice, however. The 37-year-old consultant, who boasts of not having an MBA, is busy coaching media barons and packaged good companies alike on how entertainment content can connect consumers emotionally with their products.

According to Wolf, consumers are increasingly looking for entertainment content in everything they buy. Whether it's products, advertising, or the buying experience itself, entertainment is now the chief catalyst of change in the globalized, brand-dominated, consumer economy, Wolf writes in The Entertainment Economy, his recently published treatise.

In his book, Wolf argues that global leaders such as Disney and Viacom are not merely cultural and economic forces, but are influencing the business strategies of all companies. And who is now counted among these companies' top advisors? Everyone is crying for Wolf.

Asked which consultants are best qualified to pursue opportunities inside the media and entertainment arena, Wolf warns that the space is not for amateurs.

"It's one of those industries in which general consulting knowledge is not really that valuable," says Wolf, who claims his clients prefer doing business with people who have a deep understanding of the way media, communications, and entertainment businesses work.

Still, the year's tragic headlines have now cast a shadow across the entertainment sector.

"The same forces that can be very positive can also be very troubling," admits Wolf. Given the positive response Wolf's advice continues to garner, few observers doubt that the forces will be with him for many years to come.

Bob Howe

The words have stuck in Bob Howe's head long after he made the decision to leave Booz-Allen & Hamilton.

"Bob, get the facts, or the facts will get you," James Allen, Booz's co-founder, once lectured Howe.

Twenty-three years later, Howe appears to be spending every living moment convincing the world he has heeded Allen's words.

As CEO of e-business consultancy Scient Corp., 54-year-old Howe is busy telling clients and shareholders alike that he has got the facts about consulting's Digital Age.

The facts, according to Howe, can be boiled down to a single phrase: "Size doesn't matter." It's an expression that underscores the contrarian nature of the digital world, and one with which Howe hopes to render the advantages of Godzilla-like consulting organizations extinct. Or, at least, teach the giant consultancies how to share.

"Andersen's size doesn't necessarily give them an advantage in this electronic world in terms of building the capability," explains Howe, who knows all about adding capability, having built IBM's consulting unit after leaving Booz.

"We see Scient as the Marines compared to Andersen's large, general-purpose army," he says.

It's a message that has already captured the attention of both clients and Wall Street. Last month an initial public offering allowed Howe's stake in the firm to reach nearly $175 million. For its part, the e-commerce juggernaut generated $20.6 million in revenue its first year of operation – a feat few companies can boast.

Howe, a graduate of Southern Methodist University and Harvard University's graduate school of business administration, started his career in 1968 with a job at Atlantic Richfield Co., Los Angeles. He followed with several management stints before joining Booz-Allen in 1976.

"I think McKinsey is one of the finest firms in the world, but I think even for them the market is going to change more toward speed," says Howe. "Performing six-month strategy studies to find answers is no longer going to be in the client's best interest, and those are the facts."

The consultant's choice of words is enough to make James Allen proud.

Orit Gadiesh

It's an often-repeated story and one that has already stood the test of time. In the wake of troubling financial disclosures by her firm and lingering misconduct allegations involving its clients, Bain & Company's newly-elected chair Orit Gadiesh stood before a gathering of the firm's partners and urged them to find their consultancy's true north.

 Only by questioning its own purpose did Gadiesh believe Bain could navigate what she today describes as a severe crisis of confidence. The speech was one of a number Gadiesh delivered in an attempt to restore pride and a sense of direction within the consultancy.

"Only when you're tested or when there are tradeoffs to make do you really know if you have a true north. It's really how you go about making decisions and taking action," explains Gadiesh, who by issuing a timely challenge is today credited with helping restore the consultancy's rigor.

Once embraced by Bain's minions, Gadiesh was elevated to the role of spiritual leader — not just inside Bain, but across the consulting industry, where she perhaps better than anyone has articulated the virtues of the consulting profession in the 1990s.

"We needed to know that what we were doing was still valid. We needed to remind ourselves why we're good at what we're doing," explains Gadiesh, whose "pride at Bain" sermons are credited with helping awaken the consultancy's sense of purpose.

 As the daughter of a former Israeli general, Gadiesh served in the office of the deputy chief of staff of the Israeli army before attending Harvard Business School, where she was recruited by Bain in 1977.

Today, while Bain partners credit Gadiesh for helping reengage the firm's core values, they seldom miss an opportunity to note the operational skills of Thomas Tierney, the firm's worldwide managing director. Together, the two consultants share credit for Bain's turnaround. But it's Gadiesh's words that have energized the profession.

Asked about the origins of her "true north" metaphor, Gadiesh routinely credits her husband — an avid yachtsman who once singlehandedly sailed around the world.

Not unlike her spouse, Gadiesh's navigational skills set her apart.

Terry Orzan

Like a contender who has advanced from obscurity to have a shot at the title, the managers who jointly propel Ernst & Young forward remain little known to the outside world.

The consultancy's steady growth has recently led some to scrutinize more closely the personalities responsible for marshaling change within the firm. And at no time were E&Y's internal forces more visible than during a global reorganization last fall.

"We just said 'do it now,'" says Terry Ozan, Ernst & Young's senior vice chairman, Americas consulting services. According to E&Y watchers, the "we" within E&Y's consulting hierarchy has for most of the 1990s meant E&Y's deputy chairman Roger Nelson and Ozan. And for anyone who has observed the unique teamwork up close, the simple deduction is that the two consultants have borrowed a time-tested formula wherein Nelson speaks softly and Ozan carries the stick.

"It's clear that Roger with the passion or vision alone wasn't going to operationalize it — that's where Terry's presence is amplified," said one consultant who has worked closely over the last five years with both men, and observed the role each played in the firm's two major reorganizations, dubbed Future State '97 and Global State '02.

Just how effective Ozan is at whetting the firm's appetite for knowledge and thought leadership will likely be made more visible this fall when Nelson is expected to retire. The 61-year-old Nelson is credited with instilling his passion for knowledge into the consultancy's scrappy troops — helping E&Y distinguish itself from the groundswell of body shops wielding little or no thought–leadership credentials. Some speculate that E&Y vice chairman David Shpilberg  will likely help Ozan fill Nelson's thought–leadership shoes, but "the stick" is expected to remain firmly in Ozan's hand.

When asked about Ozan, more than one E&Y partner quipped: "He makes the trains run on time." Still, others note that it would be a mistake to label him as only an operations executive, given his passion and grasp of the firm's maturing knowledge capital. For his part, Ozan's responses to questions are narrowly focused and seldom drift away from the client.

"Organization is of secondary importance — none of our clients really cares how we're organized. All they care about is, can I get the innovative solution, can I get the right people at the right place at the right time at the right economic fee," says Ozan, 52 and a 28-year E&Y veteran.

It's just that focus that has made E&Y the contender it is today, and that many now believe could make the consultancy a champion tomorrow.

Roland Berger

Last August, as many members of the European business community vacated their offices for a late summer break, the partners of Roland Berger & Partner quietly purchased all of investor Deutsche Bank's 95.1 percent equity stake in their firm.

The move freed the multinational firm from a slew of regulatory restrictions and is expected to open the next chapter for one of the consulting industry's most intrepid consultants.

He has been called a lone wolf, an entrepreneur, an empire builder, and a rainmaker. No matter what the label, Roland Berger is an original. Inside a profession steeped in copycat knowledge and cloned personalities, Berger jets alone.

In 1967, he left the Boston Consulting Group and formed a one-man consultancy brandishing the consultant's own name. Thirty-two years later, RB&P has 1,300 employees spread across 26 countries. But still Berger wants more.

Ford Harding, a consultant specializing in rainmaking strategies who has also authored two books on the subject, ranks Berger among the top rainmaking consultants.

"He's not only empathetic toward clients but he is empathetic and knows how to show it in the appropriate way," says Harding, who believes RB&P's clients are immediately struck by the firm's managing partner's attentiveness and drive to help identify critical issues. One consultant recently observed Berger on an airplane reading a sliced up newspaper — a state resulting from Berger methodically tearing out business articles.

With his firm's roots anchored deep inside the European Union, 61-year-old Berger expects to have an edge as the world's markets grow more globalized.

"We have grown up in a world where every 100 to 200 kilometers you come upon a national border, a new language, a new social culture, a new currency, and new laws. This should become a competitive advantage for us as we continue

to expand around the globe," explains Berger, who has recently been traveling extensively in the United States.

No longer fettered by outside investors, the next chapter of Berger's 37-year career is rumored to involve an American subplot. And the forecast calls for rain.

Pamela Thomas-Graham

Asked to describe a typical client within McKinsey & Company's media practice, Pamela Thomas-Graham responds: "These are often Fortune 500 CEOs who have a very robust business in the physical world, but are now struggling to enter the virtual world of the Internet."

Who better than Thomas-Graham to help them enter new worlds?

As the mother of a one-year-old son and author of two recently published novels, Thomas-Graham is not your typical 80-hour-a-week consultant. Three and a half years ago, she became the first black woman to enter the exclusive world of McKinsey partners.

"I think we're definitely seeing more diversity in the consulting profession, which is a huge positive," says Thomas-Graham, who believes the move to a more diversified consulting workforce is a reflection of changes on campus. "I think what's happening in general is that MBA programs are becoming more diverse and attracting more women, and also the consulting programs are recruiting from other populations such as law schools," said the consultant, who is a graduate of Harvard College (Phi Beta Kappa) and Harvard Law School and who also wields a Harvard MBA.

In a profession known for taking control of the people's lives, Thomas-Graham is an anomaly — and as such is a potentially a powerful change agent for all those who cross her path.

The truly successful consultants manage their careers and don't let their careers manage them, explains Thomas-Graham, who claims that one of her greatest talents is the ability to prioritize under pressure. Such prioritizing was no doubt required to complete her recently published book Blue Blood, a mystery novel whose heroine is an Ivy League economics professor who is also a young black woman.

"We share a number of the same experiences," explains Thomas-Graham.

After only ten years inside the consulting profession, the 35-year-old McKinseyite is rewriting the book on work/life balance, while having already opened untold doors for many who follow.

Douglas McCracken

When Michael Cook stepped down last month after serving 15 years as chairman and chief executive of Deloitte & Touche, he had enjoyed the longest tenure of any Big Five chief executive.

To fill the management void upon Cook's departure, Deloitte & Touche partners earlier this year elected James E. Copeland as the firm's global CEO and Douglas McCracken as the U.S. firm's chairman of the board. For many who have watched Deloitte's steady climb over the last decade, Copeland's election appeared to be an endorsement of the firm's traditional practices and of Cook's legacy, but McCracken's election seemed to reveal something else.

As the national managing director of Deloitte Consulting, McCracken for many represented the firm's growing management consulting ambitions — a portion of the U.S. firm's character that had, in part, been clouded during Cook's tenure. Moreover, the election of McCracken as chairman of the board underscored his contribution as one of the principal architects of the consultancy's global structure.

"We are able to make decisions based on the best interest of our global clients rather than worry about the profit and loss statements of our local practices," says McCracken, whose efforts to execute the firm's global strategy have received strong backing from Deloitte partners, who describe the consultant's management style as both focused and evenhanded.

Back in 1977, the 28-year-old McCracken was working as an internal consultant at Cigna Corp. when he decided to make the leap into management consulting. The consultant joined Deloitte Consulting's Detroit office and was promoted to partner in 1982.