The 2017 Women Leaders in Consulting: Carol Wingard

Ask L.E.K. Consulting's Carol Wingard what she enjoys most about the work she does and she'll say there are two things. "Definitely the people side of it—I love going out to meet clients and hear about what they are doing and how we can help, as well as mentoring the young talent on our teams," she says. "But I also love the entrepreneurial nature of what we do as I can pursue and being part of building a great firm."

Wingard is a Managing Director and Partner, and a member of L.E.K.'s Global Leadership Team. She has more than two decades of strategy consulting and business development experience working with clients to develop and implement international growth strategies and brings a wealth of international experience through positions in China, Singapore, Japan, and the U.S. She was a founding partner of L.E.K. Consulting's China practice.

Wingard also has been an integral part of L.E.K.'s global Mergers & Acquisitions practice and also works in the energy and industrial industries. Prior to joining L.E.K., she served as Director of Asia for a U.S. manufacturer.

But it almost didn't happen. She says it was a bit both accident and design. "I spent the year following Princeton University in Japan—when I returned to the U.S. I contacted the school's career services offices who said, either investment banking or consulting."  An easy choice, she says. She interviewed with a few consulting firms, and one sat down with her and took her through a PowerPoint deck. "It was like a revelation—I had never seen anything like it before. I knew this was something I wanted to be able to do."

And she has for more than 25 years. Over those years, she has learned that it's fine to do things in your own time and take the path less traveled. "I ended up turning down business school to accept an offer to intern at an early-stage investment consulting firm in Beijing in the mid-1980s," Wingard says. "My Chinese language skills were poor, so the deal was that I would become a full-time employee if I brought my Mandarin up to par.  Remember, in those days China was not really on many business people's radar screen so it was hardly a well thought out career plan. But it felt like an incredibly unique opportunity and it was—it afforded us the opportunity to have a front row seat in one of the most dramatic economic transformations over the past few decades."

As far as winning the Women Leaders in Consulting award, Wingard says "it's a huge honor. I love what I do but consulting is not always the easiest profession in the world and I really appreciated the recognition," Wingard says. "I'm most proud to have my family with me at the awards dinner, along with many of the L.E.K. women I work with who make the job so rewarding."

Consulting: What is your greatest personal or professional achievement?

Wingard: "As corny as it may sound, having a wonderful family, being able to be a mom and wife as well as being able to achieve professional success. On the purely professional angle, I am most proud of having built up a vibrant consulting practice in China."