Future Leader Award
Holly Collins
Partner
Mercer
Holly Collins is a Partner with Mercer's Health & Benefit Practice in Newport Beach, Calif. She joined the firm 11 years ago and has over 15 years of experience in the employee health and benefit field. Collins specializes in strategic benefit plan program development for complex organizations. Collins provides a full range of consulting services, covering all aspects of employee benefits to Mercer's clients.
But a consulting career wasn't always in the cards for Collins, who majored in political science and started working as an insurance underwriter, which provided a great technical base of knowledge. "I knew early on that I wouldn't be happy underwriting for long as I needed a more dynamic, team-based and client-focused job," she says.
So, she began interviewing at several consulting firms and says she knew when she found the right one. "I knew I wanted to be at Mercer immediately when I met the people here," Collins says. "The people I work with at Mercer, and our clients, are the most interesting, intellectually curious and forward-thinking individuals I know and it makes everyday rewarding."
She recently led in the development and implementation of Mercer's Healthcare Industry vertical, which focuses on the unique issues facing healthcare organizations.
"The opportunity to work with so many interesting people across different industries and backgrounds is what I love most about consulting," she says. "Every day brings a new challenge both assisting our clients and internally in making the right decisions for our business. I have the opportunity to make an impact helping my clients with their unique issues."
At the same time, her role as office leader for the Newport Beach and San Diego offices gives her the ability to influence the business and help support
the firm in so many ways.
Less than one year after taking on this role, she has positioned the offices for growth. She counts those successes among her accomplishments. "I think being in the situation I am today, as a Partner at a firm with Mercer's prestige and reputation, as a consultant for my clients, as a recent MBA graduate, and as the leader of two offices, these are my greatest professional and personal achievements," she says.
Collins says her parents were always supportive of her and that's why she's had the successes she's had and prepared her for the profession's many challenges.
"While I have faced some challenges as a woman in consulting, I really believe these challenges have been quite minimal because there have been so many strong women leaders in consulting who paved the way for my generation," she says. "I think any situation where your job is based on building relationships there can be circumstances where people prefer working with a certain kind of person, whether older or younger, woman or man. Rather than considering how I 'overcome' these preferences, I am more likely to focus on how I can do the best job possible and provide the best service to my clients."
It's a formula that has served Collins well thus far in her career. "Find something you love to do and make it your career," she says. "And if you truly spend the time to understand your client's business issues and needs, and focus on solving their problems and not selling them your solutions, you will be successful as a consultant and trusted advisor."
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