After establishing its presence in the Pacific Northwest, Bellevue, Wash.-based ARRYVE Consulting, a 2011 Consulting magazine Small Jewel, recently tapped operational strategy leader Bill Helming as Managing Director of its new Boston office. As a partner who led the Life Sciences practice at PRTM, where he worked for 21 years before it became a division of PwC, Helming's diverse background brings a lot to the table to help ARRYVE bring its unique model to the East Coast. Companies are facing unprecedented levels of disruption in every conceivable area, from new technologies to new ways of doing business, and are looking for a roadmap to future-proof their business, Helming says.
Consulting: Tell us about what your role at ARRYVE will consist of day-to-day.
Helming: I'll be really focused on integrating ARRYVE's unique way doing business into a city as dynamic and forward-thinking as Boston. We target high-intensity, high-impact work that accelerates people, projects and organizations to what we call a state of future-readiness, which is already getting a warm reception. After working in Boston for many years, I'm convinced there is a real opportunity here. On a day-to-day basis, I'll focus on building a client base of companies that value how we work and a team that lives the ARRYVE DNA. It's important to us that we stay true to the future-ready philosophy, proven methodologies, and delivery style that our clients tell us they want.
Consulting: What attracted you to the firm?
Helming: From the first time I met Chris Smith and Chris Stephenson, ARRYVE's partners and co-founders, I was sold on their attitude, aptitude and approach to disrupting the consulting profession and creating a truly unique and dynamic firm. The investment they've put into culture, training and operational infrastructure outpaces what even many of the largest and oldest firms have tried to do. Those investments led the whole team to accomplishments over the last seven years that are beyond impressive—more than 30 clients across nearly 20 industries; high-impact engagements in some of the most important business initiatives coming out of the Pacific Northwest; and a consistent toolkit of philosophy, methodology, attributes and behaviors that most firms take decades to reach. Finally, ARRYVE's approach to helping clients both cause and manage disruption, which is increasingly essential in a rapidly changing world, was most appealing.
Consulting: Can you talk a bit about how your diverse background will coalesce around your new role?
Helming: This phase in ARRYVE's evolution reminds me of some of the most exciting points in my career. With firm foundations for the future and tremendous initial success under our belt, we're at that critical juncture of taking advantage of our strengths to scale while being very deliberate and not just trying to grow for growth's sake. That's very important to us, and something that's right in my wheelhouse. I've had leadership roles where we invested significant attention into balancing growth with the internal operational requirements needed to ensure we continually deliver difference-making results. So my background in leading major internal programs, introducing IP and developing new service offerings to fuel expansion is always grounded in reality and a client-centric worldview.
Consulting: What are clients demanding?
Helming: Rightfully so, clients are demanding practical results that matter, in a business context that's changing rapidly. Disruption is everywhere, in new products and services, business models and technologies, markets and competitive threats. For us, it's the perfect story. Specialists home in on niche issues and strategists focus on big picture theories. Our business model goes straight to the root cause, uses a structured set of methodologies to define a targeted solution, and turns around results fast. We like to say "we take six weeks, not six months, but it's a really focused six weeks." It turns out, this is exactly what clients are demanding.
Consulting: What are ARRYVE's plans for the East Coast?
Helming: Our initial focus is Boston, which has interesting parallels with ARRYVE's Seattle roots. Both have significant technology sectors; exciting developments in healthcare, life sciences and biotechnology; and a strong middle-market. These are also areas where ARRYVE has expertise and I've built my career. My background in operational strategy, product development and supply chain management will guide our first forays as a Boston office, but we're biased towards the "super-generalist." Highly-skilled and deeply-engaged professionals can take our future-ready philosophy, methodologies and delivery style to accelerate results across any industry, function or strategic challenge.
Consulting: What are some of the biggest strategy challenges of the day and how will ARRYVE help clients overcome them?
Helming: The number one strategy challenge is the imperative to manage increasing disruption faster and with fewer resources than ever before. This is something the partners at ARRYVE are truly focused on. Yes, there are companies that disrupt, and ARRYVE works with many. But the majority are on the receiving end and know they need to get better at recognizing, responding and proactively competing in this new world. Consider how robotics and 3-D printing impact the supply chain, or how organizational models are evolving to meet the needs of an ever-changing workforce. These are truly disruptive forces that many companies are facing now or will in the near future. And with these new disruptions, clients need new ways to attack these strategically important problems.
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