The 2020 Rising Stars of the Profession: John Beringer

John Beringer began his career out of school in the consulting space. Admittedly, he had no idea what he wanted to do after college and saw consulting as an excellent opportunity to see a lot of different industries and companies. 

That opportunity has paid off for Beringer, for sure.

About two years ago, he left a larger, more established firm to help start Spaulding Ridge. "In a relatively short period of time, a group of other leaders, and I have built a team of 200 consultants delivering 'best in cloud' solutions," Beringer says. "Playing a role in the growth of several of our services, most notably building our DocuSign business to over 40 consultants, is certainly something I'm very proud of having done."

Throughout his career thus far, Beringer has always had leaders around him who had more confidence in him than he had in himself, he says. "Because of that confidence, they put me in positions I may not have otherwise found myself in. Ultimately, I have grown tremendously from those learning experiences," Beringer says. 

"Consulting is entirely a people business—both with our clients and our people. As a result, the relationships you build and the difference you can make for those around day-to-day is a massive part of what's exciting about the industry," Beringer says. 

"Whether it's helping a client solve a complex transformative problem or one of the consultants through one of their first projects, you can tell that you're making an impact on the people you're working with."

As far as being named a Rising Star at only the age of 28, Beringer says that "winning this award is an exceptional acknowledgment of the brand I've built amongst my peers in the consulting space. Additionally, the support of the leaders I've been fortunate enough to work with and learn from has made this possible, and it is a validation of their hard work and faith in me."

As a thought leader, Beringer authored or co-authored several articles at Spaulding Ridge including the following: 

• Connected Planning for Higher Education—How Salesforce and Anaplan Can Drive Better Decision Making for Your Institution 

• Spaulding Ridge Introduces the World's First Agreement Cloud Practice

• Modern Planning and the Shifting Landscape of Higher Education.

Q&A: What's the best advice—personal or professional—you've ever received? 

Beringer: "The team at Spaulding Ridge frequently talks about the idea that "all business is personal." Ultimately, business is done between individuals, not companies. We work very hard to apply this concept to our client, technology partner, and consultant relationships—it's critical to build personal relationships with those around you. Over time, this will pay big dividends in good times and bad."