The 2020 Women Leaders in Technology: Jenny Koehler

Today, Koehler is a Partner, as well as an Advisory Industrial Products and Services Vertical Leader at PwC. "I relish the opportunity each and every day to make a difference, for both my clients, as well as team members.  The fact that I get to do so in such exciting, and necessary, industries—such as utilities—is a bonus, too," she says. "There is nothing quite like the feeling of watching the nature of someone's job change, or in crafting a completely different way of working—one that you know will be lasting far after you leave."

In addition to the client circumstances that she has been part of changing, she says her greatest achievements have been rooted in growing parts of the business. "Not only is that evidenced in the quantitative aspects of measuring a P&L, but more personally, in the number of new PwC Partners that I have had the privilege of shaping and making in my career," Koehler says. 

Over the next 12 months or so, Koehler says she is most excited to see how emerging digital trends and technologies will transform the business landscape. "There is such potential, and I believe that organizations that focus their digital investments in their core capabilities, and align them to strategic imperatives, will bear the fruits most meaningfully," she says. 

Koehler says she has learned the value of surrounding herself with team members that are way more talented than she is and in developing skills to harness the power of a collective team. "All of this probably stems from the fact that I played sports competitively all the way through college, and appreciate the power of a well-functioning team, as compared to a single talented player," Koehler says. "As a leader, I continually come back to these principles and strive to get this right as often as I can."

As far as being named one of the Women Leaders in Consulting, Koehler says she is not entirely comfortable being the point of the conversation, and instead would prefer to focus on what the award means for women leaders, as a whole. 

"While I intellectually understand why awards such as this are necessary in furthering the discourse about women in business leadership, I long for a time when a woman occupying a senior leadership position in business is not the headline," she says. "When we get to that point, we will have achieved gender parity."

Have you experienced unique challenges being a woman consultant in the technology field? 

Koehler: "I prefer to view the fact that I am a woman, both in business, as well as in the technology field, as an asset.  Being a woman, and one that has navigated the business world as I have, affords me a unique perspective and voice in the conversation. So rather than focusing on the unique challenges, I prefer to reframe around the opportunities that it has afforded me."