The 2019 Women Leaders in Consulting: Sue St. Sure

Sue St. Sure became a consultant by design. She attended U.C.L.A. Anderson to expand her knowledge beyond the internal finance and corporate strategy roles she held post-college and believed consulting would be the best route forward.

Turns out, it absolutely was. Today St. Sure is a Managing Director and Partner, as well as the head of L.E.K. Consulting's Los Angeles office and a member of L.E.K.'s Americas Regional Management Committee. She has more than 24 years of experience assisting companies globally in corporate and business unit strategy consulting and M&A advisory support. 

She has worked across many biopharmaceutical, therapeutic, and technology segments and has assisted clients with issues such as strategic opportunity evaluations, product prioritization, product planning and commercialization, strategic partnering, and mergers and acquisitions. 

St. Sure says there are many things she loves about consulting. "First, I love addressing the ongoing challenges in the life sciences industry. The science is constantly evolving and the problems are complex," she says. "I am constantly learning in a field that makes a difference in people's lives which is extremely rewarding."

Second, she loves helping clients and cherishes the relationships she's developed over the past 20 years. "They are a truly impressive set of executives and it's rewarding that they have the confidence in us to help them with critical make-or-break decisions," St. Sure says. "Finally, I love seeing talented and ambitious people who have joined our firm learn and grow to become leaders in this industry."

Professionally, St. Sure says she's looking forward to plenty in the year ahead, but two things, in particular, stand out. "First, I am one of the partners leading L.E.K.'s Women's 2025 initiative, which is focused on increasing women's presence in our partner and leadership ranks," she says. "We finalized our strategy this year and are beginning implementation. I look forward to seeing results as they emerge."  

Second, she is an active mentor to several amazing women managers and principals, and also a member of the Partner Development Committee. "I'm proud to be part of the leadership team that works across L.E.K.'s global offices to develop and assess senior staff's readiness for partner," she says. 

She's proud of being asked and tasked with the job of launching L.E.K.'s West Coast Life Sciences practice. "Not only building a practice but creating roles to support that practice, including L.E.K.'s Life Science Specialist role—our PhD program—which has been an important success factor in growing our practice."

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

"This award is a huge honor—I am grateful and proud to be named a Woman Leader in Consulting. It's an honor to be recognized in an industry that I am passionate about and has continued to challenge me and provide both professional and personal rewards.  The relationships I have made with my clients, peers and teams are important elements that continue to motivate me each day."