The 2017 Global Leaders in Consulting: Venkatakrishnan Janakiraman

Venkatakrishnan Janakiraman is the India Country Leader for Huron and Managing Director of its Enterprise Solutions & Analytics practice. He is an expert Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) architect, advisor and consultant with over 12 years of implementation experience in Oracle BI and EPM and says he is proud he could make such an impact on the growth of Huron India.

"It took seven years to build a team of 80, but in a single year, we grew to 200 people—a 120 percent increase. The growth in headcount is a direct result of the expansion of our offerings and the depth of knowledge we've gained as a company regarding what works best for our clients."

One of his biggest achievements, he says, is being recognized as an Oracle ACE for his work using Oracle Business Intelligence & Enterprise Performance Management. "The recognition is given to those who have demonstrated proficiency and expertise in using Oracle to solve complex business challenges," he says. "It's a selective honor to receive and I'm proud to be one of the first people in India to be recognized for it."

He says he's also proud to be a part of starting the India operations of Rittman Mead in 2009 and then successfully selling it to Huron in 2015.

Janakiraman says his success comes down to three factors. "One, I'm not afraid to take risks. I will always do what I believe is best for clients. Two, I love technology and how it can transform the operations of a business operations. I pride myself on the fact that our company is so well-run because we embraced technology and adopted it to run our business," he says. "Three, I am nothing without our team, who all share a common vision of delivering the best results to our clients."

Finally, he says his peer group of managing directors within Huron motivates him to look beyond the obvious solutions and to really find what is going to be the best outcome for every client.

As far as being named a Global Leader in Consulting, he says it's an "honor and a testament to the team that has supported me. For Huron, it means we are living up to our values—in particular 'the pursuit of excellence,' " Janakiraman says. "For our clients, it confirms for them that they made the right choice in choosing Huron because of our expertise, innovative solutions and dedication to providing them a clear path to sustainable growth."

Q&A: What do you enjoy most about your work and the consulting profession?

Janakiraman: "I love technology. It enables organizations to think, plan and act differently when it comes to business models, service delivery and operations. It can transform an entire industry and solve complex problems. I enjoy using the team's wide array of technology expertise to make our clients as successful as possible."