Laurent Guerard / A.T. Kearney
Excellence in Leadership
Motivation can sometimes be a tricky thing to nail down, but Laurent Guerard seems to have it figured out. "Similar to many people, I am motivated by fear of not disappointing others, especially clients and colleagues," he says. "Many people are counting on me and I want to deliver positive and impactful results."
At a more fundamental level, he says that he is motivated by learning. "If you excel, try your best, do your best, then you will be provided future opportunities for the next challenge and the next learning opportunity."
Safe to say Guerard, a Partner with A.T. Kearney and a member of firm's leadership team for the Americas region, is learning plenty and disappointing no one—particularly his clients.
For the past year, he's been working with a large client to develop a comprehensive corporate and business strategy. The management team was newly formed, and leaders had diverse perspectives. "We defined several detailed business cases to support a bold and ambitious vision and corresponding strategies to aggressively grow the business," he says. "The plan requires significant investments across many areas. I am proud that the team presented fact-based information as well as useful frameworks, which allowed the client management team to align on and really own ambitious growth targets and strategies."
Throughout his career, he has worked in a lot of different industry sectors and functional areas. "On each client project, I enjoy learning and adapting my skills from strategy to operations to cost reduction to restructuring. Each new experience, sets up the next challenge," Laurent says. "I am also proud of the relationships I developed on client teams. I enjoy the opportunity to coach and mentor consultants. It is rewarding to participate in their leadership development and to see their accomplishments—whether as young partners or industry leaders."
His ability to combine problem-solving skills with the ability to relate to people has been the biggest factor to his success, he says. "Figuring out the analytical answer only matters if you can explain it to human beings," Laurent says. "Knowing the solution is not enough, you need to be relatable so your audience realizes what the issue is, agrees on the solution, and is willing to move forward"
Developing personal relationships combined with the challenge of learning and solving problems is what makes consulting a unique and fulfilling career, he says. "I enjoy the consulting profession because I am continuously learning something new," he says. "Throughout my career, I have learned the basics of a particular function or sector area, how to build consensus within a management team, how to persuade clients to make choices and implement the recommended actions, and to help clients actually implement those actions. I enjoy the challenge of combining analytical skills with softer skills."
And he says he found the prefect firm to practice his craft. "A.T. Kearney has afforded me the opportunity to follow my passions and interests, and to continuously challenge myself to keep learning."
Q&A: What does winning the Top 25 award mean to you, your firm and your clients?
Laurent: "Winning the Top 25 award means that the good work we do every day on behalf of our clients is recognized. This validation fuels me to continue to challenge myself and my clients to achieve even more. Together we not only solve business problems, but we aim to build lasting companies with positive impact."
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