The 2019 Women Leaders in Consulting: Stephanie Penner

Leadership

Earlier this year Stephanie Penner stepped into another leadership role at Mercer—leading the firm's Tri-State offices in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey with nearly 1,000 colleagues servicing over 800 clients. "In 2020 I am looking forward to helping to build better and brighter futures for our employees and those of our clients," Penner says. 

In her new role, she helps tackle some of the most challenging workforce problems faced by organizations in today's world of massive, constant business disruption. Top priorities for clients include improving the employee experience at work, finding innovative solutions for healthcare affordability, accessibility and quality, creating greater financial wellness for employees, reducing the complexity and risk in retirement and investment strategies and accelerating digital transformation in HR.

"After nearly 22 years at Mercer working with clients across the world to solve their most challenging workforce issues, no day is ever the same, but what I enjoy most has never changed—the power of collaboration," she says. "Consulting is a team sport and at Mercer this means being equally invested in the success of outcomes for our clients. It also means partnering as colleagues with respect, integrity and openness—an environment that is simply priceless."

When it comes to advice she'd share with others, she says "when you encounter people who believe in you more than you believe in yourself—step up to the challenge. You won't regret it."

And she's also received some pretty sound advice along the way. Don't fear the unknown, embrace it with all of the discomfort, ambiguity, vulnerability and chaos that it brings. "At first this advice seemed counterintuitive to the pragmatic part of me that needs process and structure," Penner says. "But over time getting comfortable with the unknown has served me well as a consultant and leader through times of change and even more so in today's world of continuous transformation."   

Penner says her greatest achievement thus far has been that she's raised a strong, compassionate, independent daughter who is her biggest champion. "She has been right by my side understanding the value I place on my consulting career, cheering the entire way, and learning from the choices I've made—not always perfect, but consistently authentic, purposeful and passionate."  

And when it comes to the award, Penner says she is grateful for the industry recognition and intensely mindful of serving as an example for others. "I value this opportunity to connect with and learn from other incredible women," she says. 

Q&A: How did you get into the consulting profession? Was it by design or accident?

"Well maybe it was by subliminal design—meaning, consulting was not an immediate obvious choice for me, but looking back the puzzle pieces were all there. While math came easily to me, there also was a strong creative itch in me that needed to be scratched. I worked briefly in marketing, advertising, and publishing, but eventually found the world of HR consulting—for me it has been the ideal fusion of art and science—and I have never looked back."