The 2010 Women Leaders in Consulting: Susan Kantor

"I get jazzed about applying to our own firm the same high standards of operational discipline we provide to our clients. We manage our business the way we advise clients to manage theirs," she says. That means having the right operational metrics, dashboards and efficient global systems to inform our business decisions.

At PRTM, that means working in a relatively flat, non-hierarchical organization that doesn't have layers of bureaucracy. "Managing the firm and our capital programs as one global firm rather than siloed has served us well," Kantor says. "And it has been a real strength when it comes to moving the business forward and making smart investments for the future."

Case in point—Kantor helped lead the acquisition and post-merger integration of eGate Consulting in China. In addition, Kantor has served on the firm's executive leadership team and on the Board of Directors and as a corporate officer since 1998. "My one guiding principle throughout my career is to maintain integrity in all that I do," she says. "Living out that principle of integrity has been paramount in my own professional achievement."

And she says that "being a woman in consulting is an asset, not a detriment. Women can be strong negotiators, which comes from an ability to listen to multiple points of view.
This combined with a willingness to step into a leadership role can be a powerful combination for a woman in consulting." Often, women try too hard to approach business thinking like a man. Instead, they can bring a different perspective that makes the company much richer, she says.

—J.K.