The 2017 Global Leaders in Consulting: Lisa Heneghan

Lisa Heneghan loves the fact that even at this stage of her career she continues to learn something every day. This may be from her colleagues at all levels or her clients. "It's great to know there is always more to learn and be open to it, as a result I genuinely don't know what opportunities there may be in the coming months or years, but I am confident there will be some," she says.

"I feel lucky every day to have the job that I do. I realize that when clients select us to work with them they are putting their trust in us, and as a partner leading work, it is my responsibility to deliver on that trust," Heneghan says. "So on my client work that means ensuring we have the right team, the right quality of deliverables and that we always act with integrity."

Heneghan, a Partner and Global Head of Technology for KPMG, says this is also critical in a global role. "You can only make a difference globally if you add some value at a local level—so when one of our country leads trusts me to do something I try and ensure I see it through.

Heneghan leads a network of more than 7,000 practitioners who are working with clients to turn their technology vision into reality. Outside of her global leadership, Heneghan focuses her time within the Insurance Sector, where she has a track record in driving complex technology transformation, both in terms of core systems and overall technology capability.

Heneghan says everything she does should be grounded in the impact it has for clients. "I have been working with my client for the last year on a significant transformation program to become a digital business," she says. "A few weeks ago my client told me that he felt that my team left our KPMG badges at the door and we truly act as one team working together to help them achieve their goals, I was immensely proud. That's how it should feel when we work with our clients—their success is our success."

Heneghan says success is not about her as an individual. "The value we bring to our clients and our people is in the breadth and depth of skills we have across the firm," she says. "I believe that being able to bring the right people to work with me has led to delivering great work and having teams who learn more from each other at the same time."

As far as being recognized as a Global Leader in Consulting, Heneghan says she feels privileged to think that she managed to make a difference. "For our firm I think it shows the opportunity that our people have to be recognized and for our clients hopefully it gives confidence in our commitment to deliver great outcomes."

Q&A: What accomplishments are you most proud of over the course of your entire career?

Heneghan: "One of my proudest moments, which I will never forget was when I first sponsored someone to Partner. I have always felt privileged to have achieved the career opportunity I have, but when I realized that I was now starting to build a legacy for the future it was amazing. The sense of achievement that the individual felt at the time is imprinted in my memory. He has gone on to be one of our most successful partners, so that pride continues and has now been fulfilled with many others."