The 2018 Rising Stars of the Profession: Jenna Fitzsimmons

Jenna Fitzsimmons says the key to her success thus far has been strong confidence in her abilities paired with a work environment that has its roots in entrepreneurship. "From a young age, I've had people around me that believed in my abilities and encouraged my ideas," she says. "My self-confidence has aided me in building a reputation as someone who is willing to take on just about any assignment and use my abilities, work ethic, and problem solving to find a way to successfully complete the work."

This has paired quite well with Protiviti's culture, she says, as Protiviti is a company that encourages its employees to speak up with ideas for improving the ways things are done to advance the experiences for its clients and people.

Fitzsimmons is a director in Protiviti's Risk and Compliance practice. She's an expert in internal audit, credit risk, regulatory risk and model governance for the firm's national and global financial institution clients, and a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Fitzsimmons served as Protiviti's primary point person on a major project for a global bank, responsible for staffing it with a team of 70 people; ensuring full compliance with a strict confidentiality agreement; and working with Protiviti managing directors to gain the necessary project oversight by leadership.

Making a name for herself within Protiviti as someone who can be trusted to take on and lead large projects is one of the things that she's most proud of. "I've been given the opportunity to lead some of our largest projects and some of the most high-profile engagements that we have completed as a firm," she says.

"The consulting career by its nature enables me to do this with more people than a management role in industry may offer since our teams are often changing with each new engagement," she says.