The 2019 Rising Stars of the Profession: Jessica Chiu

Age: 27

Ask IBM's Jessica Chiu what achievements and/or accomplishments she is most proud of at this point of her career and she says that she's most proud of the trust that she's earned at IBM and with her clients. "I've been empowered to lead multi-million dollar advisory and transformation projects," Chiu says. "Earning my clients' trust, no matter the challenges or complexities, validates that my work has truly made an impact."

So, what excites her most about a consulting career? Chiu says it's the respect that she's received from her clients.

"Even if I am the youngest person in the room, clients respect the expertise that I bring to the table," Chiu says. "As a result, my voice helps influence decisions at Fortune 500 companies—I don't think this would have been possible had I chosen another career to start with."

And, at just 27 years of age, she is often the youngest person in the room. In fact, Chiu is the youngest of the Risings Stars of the Profession recipients this year, so that client trust and respect is well earned.

But Chiu didn't earn all of that trust and client respect on her own. Se says IBM also had something to do with it. "The culture at IBM, and within my consulting practice, has been a major contributor to my success," she says. "Whether I have a question, need project support, or subject matter expertise, IBMers have never hesitated to make time to help."

And that has led to some pretty big successes so far. The biggest, of course, are with her clients. But it's also led to her being named one of Consulting's Rising Stars of the Profession.

So, what does winning the award mean to her? "Well, I think it means that I'm on the right path," Chiu says.