The 2017 Women Leaders in Consulting: Sharon Karlsberg

"ZS has really enabled me to pursue my passion for advancing novel oncology therapeutics," says Karlsberg, a Principal with ZS. From hosting the firm's first Oncology Summit in 2008 to leading the Oncology Vertical team with her colleagues, she says she's been lucky enough to work with companies that are on the leading edge of cancer breakthroughs—targeted medicines, immunotherapies, CAR T-cells, and combinations of these that sustain and support patients. "This provides a path for my own continuous learning, working with amazing ZS and client collaborators, and reminds me that the work our firm does ultimately helps physicians, patients and caregivers not just survive, but thrive," she says.

Karlsberg says she's been fortunate to work closely with her clients on many important engagements, yet the professional achievement she's most proud of is recent work internal to ZS.

"As part of our firm's broader efforts to clarify and accelerate our future path forward, I led a team of principals focused on identifying, articulating and sharing our firm's core purpose," she says. "Our goal seemed simple enough—develop a succinct purpose statement that would reflect not just what ZS does as a firm, but why we are motivated to do the work we do here."

For the better part of a year, Karlsberg spent a lot time asking and listening to ZSers around the world talk about why they love the work they do. Distilling the diversity of answers from more than 5,000 ZS people in 22 offices around the world was a challenge, she says.

"Finding the right words that clearly, concisely and authentically conveyed our why as a firm was fun," she says. "Most rewarding of all, however, was my experience of rolling out our core purpose to all ZSers across the firm. Helping other ZSers find the words to convey why they love what they do at ZS, and getting them comfortable with sharing their personal why with their clients, recruits and friends, has been a great honor. I'm confident that what we do at ZS will evolve and expand in years ahead.  And I'm just as confident that our core purpose of why we do what we do will remain our consistent "true north" to unite, guide and motivate ZSers for decades to come."

Consulting: What does winning the Women Leaders in Consulting award mean to you?

Karlsberg: "When I first joined ZS 13 years ago, there were very few women in senior leadership positions in our firm.  As I contemplated a career in consulting—a notoriously tough and time-intensive profession—I knew of few men with children in our company, let alone women who had built successful careers while raising a family! Receiving this award reminds me that I've always wanted to bring additional role models for women into consulting; today I definitely feel like I've done that. I'm simultaneously awed and honored to join my esteemed ZS colleagues who have also been recognized as Women Leaders in Consulting."