The 2020 Rising Stars of the Profession: Mallory Motley

Mallory Motley decided several years ago to make a career change after not feeling challenged in a previous role at Marsh. "I knew I enjoyed puzzles and problem solving, and the role of a consultant seemed like a good fit to my personality and skillset," Motley says. "I was fortunate enough to have a very open conversation with leadership, who allowed me to pursue a new role." 

That new role is as a Senior Managing Consultant at Marsh Risk Consulting. Motley says that she loves that every single day is different and is privileged enough to work at a company that enables her to work with a wide array of clients and colleagues. 

"One day I may be consulting a Fortune 500 client on how best to structure a potential insurance offering for their customers or vendors, while the next day I'm working with Marsh colleagues to design new processes and procedures to increase operational efficiency," Motley says. "Most recently, I have been involved in projects with our digital team to tackle complex insurance placement and customer experience challenges. Each project I'm engaged on is ultimately trying to solve a different problem, which allows for a very exciting work environment."

Motley says the biggest factor to her success has been the ability to develop and grow in a multidisciplinary environment. "I've been given the opportunity to learn from each and every project I have ever worked on; while this usually involves a steep learning curve, it forces development and growth each and every time," she says.  

In addition to being a strategy consultant, Motley is also responsible for the career development of the firm's new graduate consultants. "I was recently asked to take on this responsibility in the US, after successfully developing the program in the UK," Motley says. "The training and development of our new consulting colleagues is not only imperative to their success and the success of the business overall, but is a very challenging part of my job that I have found immensely rewarding." 

As far as being recognized a Rising Star of the Profession, Motley says she's humbled by the recognition. "The best part of my role is working with the extremely talented colleagues we have at Marsh," she says. "I am lucky enough to work on some of the most interesting projects, which involve colleagues from around the world and in almost all of our business units. This recognition would not have been possible without the learnings I have received from them all."

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

Motley: "It will all be ok"; it is very easy to become entrenched in the granular details of the project or to focus on the hurdles to completion. The road to success may be bumpy, both personally or professionally, but this advice has enabled me to keep everything in perspective."