Gina Gutzeit
FTI Consulting
Excellence in Leadership
Gina Gutzeit's first job out of college was at a small accounting firm, where she had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of engagements. Beyond the common tax and audit matters, she was also able to work on projects pertaining to bankruptcy, litigation and forensic accounting.
"My most exciting project was within my first six months, I worked on a fraud case with the FBI investigating how an individual embezzled $17 million from four banks," she says. "The entities filed for bankruptcy and I helped the FBI as they traced the funds and the individual around the globe—I was hooked!"
Today, Gutzeit is a Senior Managing Director in the Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment and leads the Office of the CFO Solutions practice, providing and implementing solutions to accelerate key finance initiatives, stabilize core processes and reduce the overall burden facing CFOs and their functional leaders.
"It was a great achievement to start at a small firm and join a Big 4," Gutzeit says. "It felt like making it to the 'major leagues'! It was even greater when I made Partner at a Big 4 accounting firm amid starting and raising a family."
Gutzeit has more than 30 years of experience advising on operational and financial improvements, restructurings and project management. She's held numerous interim management roles, including Chief Financial Officer. Her industry experience includes financial services, healthcare, pharmaceutical, transportation, service providers, retail, distributors, manufacturers, hospitality and real estate.
"I'm never bored. I'm always learning something new—from industries to processes to people," she says.
Over her three decades, Gutzeit has given and received lots of advice, but she says the best advice she's ever heard came from Madeleine Albright and, on its face, is pretty simple—Speak up!
"I find that this is often easier said than done as you are learning and moving up the ranks," she says. "I once heard Madeleine Albright speak and that was one of the most impactful pieces of advice she gave to young women, and it has resonated with me ever since."
And besides speaking up, be confident, Gutzeit says. "You can do it! Even when you don't feel confident."
Q&A: What does winning the Women Leaders in Consulting award mean to you?
Gutzeit: "It means a lot to get this recognition for years of doing what I simply love to do. It is also special to me given the support I have received from my colleagues at FTI, who all serve as great examples of how I can help future leaders."
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