Rising Stars of the Profession 2021: Kevin Kirkemo

Since joining EPAM, Kevin has developed a tremendous reputation for building strong relationships with clients and internal team members through his hard work, high-quality deliverables, and team-first mentality.

His excellence in client service is most recently exemplified by his contributions to a strategic engagement focused on helping the VA Health Care System design, test, and launch a novel decentralized clinical trial to improve US veteran access to cutting-edge cancer care.

Kevin joined this engagement as a Business Analyst (BA) focused on uncovering critical needs for a diverse group of personas across the care ecosystem. Despite entering as a Jr. BA on the team, Kevin's strong performance quickly catapulted him into a much larger leadership role – overseeing the entire User Acceptance Testing (UAT) process for the end-to-end solution. Kevin worked tirelessly through countless late nights, weekends, and even holidays to literally push the successful completion of all UAT activities despite significantly tight timelines and solution complexity.

Kevin explains that his path to, and through, consulting has been somewhat untraditional. Noting, "I studied Biochemistry and Cellular & Molecular Biology for my undergraduate and graduate degrees, respectively. My original goal was to get a Ph.D. and work in the life science industry as a bench scientist. After having spent a few years working in numerous academic research labs during and after my undergrad, I began to realize that I would be better served by faster-paced opportunities – like those in consulting – which offer more day-to-day variety and a wider breadth of experience compared to a highly specialized career as a bench scientist. I've been very happy with my career choice thus far!"

"The accomplishments I am most proud of are the ones I believe to have the highest positive impact on society. The one achievement that, for me, stands above the rest is the successful development and launch of a novel, decentralized clinical trials platform where I worked with the US Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver personalized healthcare to veterans with cancer within the VA system. This decentralized clinical trial system leverages a customized technology platform that integrates digital health tools to expand access to quality care for veterans – including those in rural and underserved communities. The first patients were enrolled in early 2021."

He attributes much of his success to date, to the people he works with, both the clients as well as the members of his team. "The teams I have worked with both internally at EPAM, as well as my external clients, have been extremely knowledgeable, talented and, above all, driven to make a difference. Without my clients and coworkers working alongside me, my past successes would have been nearly impossible to achieve."

On advice he's received, Kevin points out, "The best professional advice I've ever received was shared by someone with decades of consulting experience who said, "In consulting, you must be able to speak eloquently about a subject you know very little about." I think about that advice often because there is a lot of wisdom wrapped up in that single sentence!"

"Being honored as a Rising Star, is further confirmation that my 'client first' mentality (something that is shared by EPAM across all parts of its business) has, and always will be, the winning approach. Putting the client first ensures that the clients feel engaged, respected, and see the value I bring to their organization. This mentality will continue to serve me and my clients well as I look towards the future."

What excites you most about your consulting career?

"For me, the most exciting thing about a career in consulting is the breadth and variety of the problems I have been (and will be) tasked to solve. These challenges often meet at the intersection of technology and the biological sciences – both of which are long-standing personal interests of mine. Additionally, as someone who consults for the Life Science industry, I am continually driven by the reminder that my work can improve the health and wellbeing of many."