Future Leader Award
Kristen Vennum
North Highland
Not many management consultants begin their careers as landscape architects, but Kristen Vennum did. There she learned the basics of good design, including how to solve problems and how to bring together complex ideas with a simple, but elegant theme.
But in search of bigger things, she returned to graduate school to get an MBA. "I was fortunate that North Highland took a chance on me, breaking our model of hiring experienced consultants, and hiring me on sheer energy and enthusiasm for relationship building and problem solving," Vennum says. "Nine years later, I can absolutely say that becoming a consultant was one of the best choices I have ever made."
Today, Vennum is a Principal with North Highland and works primarily with health and life sciences and non-profit clients to help them achieve their strategies and improve their performance.
"What consultant doesn't love a great big, complicated problem?" Vennum asks. "Hashing through all the alternatives, getting a motivated team around a white board… coming up with that breakthrough idea that changes everything. Those are the moments I think we all live for in consulting," she says. "And getting to come back years later and see your idea is still working? Those are definitely the high points."
—J.K.
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