Future Leader Award
Kelly Chambliss
Application Innovation Services Leader, North America
IBM
Kelly Chambliss remembers a time very early in her consulting career when a the CIO of a major company walked into a meeting, looked at her and asked somebody on the team who she was and why she was in the room. "It was as if he was asking… 'how is she possibly going to help us?' In those situations, Chambliss says she "held her head high, spoke with confidence, admitted when I didn't know the answer, and, most importantly, went into meetings prepared."
That ethic has gotten her to where she is today—the leader of IBM's largest consulting unit in North America. But when she started in the profession, she "thought consulting would provide a breadth of experiences, exposure to intelligent and highly motivated people, and unmatched opportunities to learn," she says. "These perceptions turned out to be true, and I've continued a career in consulting for many of the same reasons."
And, so far at least, it has served her well as she's accomplished many great things at IBM. Chambliss led the integration of AIS into IBM's Consulting Services organization and also is leading the development of emerging areas such as Business Process Management, Mobile Enablement and Cloud Computing.
"I enjoy working with clients to solve complex business problems, and [I also enjoy] the personal relationships developed while doing so," she says. "I also find it inspiring to work with so many talented and motivated people."
Meanwhile, she says she also finds inspiration from athletics. She attended Virginia Tech on a full athletic scholarship and was co-captain of the volleyball team that had the best season in school history, even though they weren't the most physically talented team.
"Drive, determination, and teamwork can yield great results," Chambliss says. "We were not the most talented, but we were focused, disciplined, and resilient. Since that time, I've realized that sports are a great metaphor for business."
—J.K.
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