The 2019 Top 25 Consultants: Liz Hilton Segel

In college, she was the Business Manager of The Harvard Crimson, a self-funding and profitable daily undergraduate newspaper. "It was an exhilarating experience to lead and manage a business at the age of 20," Hilton Segel says. "Soon after I graduated, I was debating between accepting a job at McKinsey or a leading consumer products company and took my father's advice to continue my business education by working at McKinsey. I've been here ever since."

Hilton Segel is the Managing Partner for McKinsey in North America. She is a member of McKinsey's Shareholders Council and a member of the global partnership service team. Since joining the firm, she has partnered with clients on their transformations. 

"I have had the honor of holding a number of leadership roles within the firm—whether managing the New York office, our Marketing & Sales practice or my current role leading North America," Hilton Segel says. It's a privilege to lead a group of leaders of such extraordinary talent and vision."

In early 2000, Hilton Segel was involved in McKinsey's efforts to build a digital media business for Major League Baseball from the ground up. Years later, it was acquired by Disney for over $1 billion. "It's this scale of impact and quality of collaboration we achieve with clients that have kept me at the firm for my entire career," she says. "I'm intrinsically motivated by big, complex challenges. I've been lucky enough to work through them with business leaders and colleagues who make the process invigorating."

Even after 25 years with McKinsey, Hilton Segel says she's irresistibly drawn to what makes this firm so special—the scale of the business challenges and the quality of the people. "It's these two pillars that inspire me to pursue opportunities to serve in capacities where I can achieve maximum impact," she says. 

Hilton Segel serves on The Conference Board's board of trustees and the Central Park Conservancy board. She's a member of the American Marketing Association's Marketing Hall of Fame Academy and was recognized as a 2018 Working Mother of the Year and included in Crain's 2018 list of Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting.   

"The privilege of being in this field for as long as I have is seeing businesses evolve over a period of time and discovering why they've transformed as they have," she says. "As consultants, we're at the forefront of learning what makes companies successful and often, we're fortunate enough to be on the frontlines helping them shape and achieve that success."

What's been the biggest factor to your success?

Hilton Segel: "I'm a truth-teller. People always know where I stand. With clients, my consistent authenticity engenders trust. With colleagues, my honesty and transparency make me accessible. In both cases, people know my commitment to truth is ultimately in service of their success. I also believe leaders are only as good as the people who stand behind them. I place great importance on spotting talent and nurturing potential through constructive feedback and coaching, and I believe in multiplying my impact by thoughtfully empowering those around me."