The 2017 Women Leaders on Consulting: Jennifer Hayes

Jennifer Hayes is an Atlanta-based partner in Bain & Company's Retail and Strategy Practices and leads Bain's work with a major multi-national retail client. She says being appointed to client head of a top 10 Bain account—a major multi-national company—is among her greatest professional achievements to date.

"The appointment followed my return to Bain after a three-month leave of absence to spend time with my three children," she says. "Prior to that, I received promotions to manager and then partner while working part-time for the better part of a decade. It is a testament to the commitment that Bain's leadership team has in working parents and the firm's overall culture that is focused on helping women thrive professionally and personally."

Hayes is instrumental in creating that culture and the atmosphere. She chairs Bain's Global Women's Leadership Council.  Under Hayes' leadership, GWLC is tasked with identifying and providing the firm's women with the tools they need to thrive professionally and personally.

Hayes advises clients on growth and full potential business and corporate strategy across a variety of industry segments, with a focus on the retail sector.  This includes multi-year transformational business model work in grocery, specialty retail, outdoor equipment, beverages, and hospitality. Hayes also has expertise in a variety of core retail topics including assortment planning, store operations, organizational effectiveness, omni-channel, digital, and sustainability.

"Helping clients solve some of their toughest challenges is really exciting and satisfying. On the personal side of our business, connecting with my colleagues at Bain – especially women—and developing my teams is also incredibly fulfilling," Hayes says. "I try to be open, honest and direct in advising consultants, whether it's on a client matter or on their professional growth, and I share personal examples of failure to demonstrate that everyone has similar growing pains."

Hayes says consulting is a demanding job, but in her experience, she thinks woman can actually have it all—just not all at once. "It's important to figure out your priorities and how you want to sequence things in your life at work, at home and in your community," Hayes says. "Make thoughtful and deliberate choices, navigate your career with intent, and find some great people to join you on the journey."

Consulting: What's the best advice (consulting or otherwise) you've ever received?

Hayes: "Navigate life with intent. Feels easy but can actually be quite hard. We are all so busy. We apply great strategy to our clients' problems, but too often we don't use the same rigor with our own careers and lives.  How do I define success? Where do we want to be in five years? Where am I today? What is the best path to get to my five-year vision? What things should I be involved in? What isn't or doesn't need to be a priority? What gives me energy and what drains it? Having answers to these questions at each stage and using that to help steer my commitments and actions is what guides me in how I move forward and grow. It also gives me a framework for saying "no" to those things that don't fit into my forward plan."