The 2019 Women Leaders in Consulting: Kristin Irving

For Kristin Irving, West Monroe Partners began as a family affair. She started her career as a systems architect for a large benefit plan administrator. Her cousin joined West Monroe and fell in love with the culture, the work and the most importantly, the people. During family dinners and discussions, it became obvious that Irving wanted more of a challenge. "She spent a year trying to recruit me and ultimately sold me on West Monroe and a career in consulting."

Thirteen years later, Irving is a Senior Director in West Monroe Partners' Healthcare practice and has more than 20 years of experience in consulting and solution development, focused primarily in the healthcare industry with depth in dental and ancillary. 

"People ask why I have stayed here at WMP for 13 years and I always give the same two answers. First, I really enjoy the work we do. It is stimulating, exciting, and ever-changing—I get to contribute to my clients' success and see them achieve significant growth," she says. "Second, and what I love most, is growing our next generation of leaders. I've had the opportunity to help grow our practice from three to 135 people. It's rewarding to mentor and coach our new consultants." 

For her part, Irving has created a distinctive niche in the dental payer sector—so much so that some people call her the Dental Queen! "The industry is diversifying, though, into areas such as vision, hearing, pet, and other insurance specialties," she says. "I look forward to continuing to adapt and grow along with the industry." 

As part of a fast-growing firm, she also says she looks forward to doing more important work for bigger clients. 

"We have some lofty goals for the Healthcare & Life Sciences practice, and those will challenge me as a leader in the practice," Irving says. "How will we scale our team? How will we grow our consultants and invest in our next generation of leaders so that they can manage client teams? I can't be everywhere, so I need to pick the most important spots and trust that we have instilled others with the skills to lead when I can't be present. I embrace the challenge!"

As far as advice she's received, Irving says Kevin McCarty, WPM's CEO, once shared that his recipe for success as a consultant starts with understanding the client's business. 

"As it relates to my experience in healthcare, I spent an initial engagement working with a large dental payer and took that advice to heart, striving to learn and understand their business and help them respond to industry changes, improve technology, and create a work environment that fosters growth," she says.

Q&A: What does winning the Women Leaders in Consulting award mean to you?

"Winning a Women Leaders award is significant to me for several reasons: First, it is affirmation of the confidence and trust my clients, my mentor and career advisor, and firm have placed in me as an advisor, colleague, and confidant. Second is the validation that women can be successful professionally and personally. Finally, I hope my selection inspires women in my network to believe in themselves and helps them achieve their personal and professional dreams and desires."