Rising Stars of the Profession 2021: Sydney Bolling

Sydney Bolling has a shining track record advising pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic clients, crafting solutions for their diverse and complex issues. Promoted annually since joining the firm in 2018, she has successfully delivered product strategies, go-to-market approaches, and competitive landscape assessments for Fortune 500 clients across the healthcare industry. In 2020, she was promoted to Senior Consultant, then to Manager in early 2021.

Sydney credits her curiosity and drive with her success at Kx, noting, "When I face a roadblock on a project or a client asks a difficult question, I am the kind person who has to find the answer. From in-depth independent research to collaborative brainstorming with colleagues, I will not rest until I find a creative solution. My brain continuously evaluates and analyzes the problem, whether I am in the office, running, or cooking dinner at home."

"My most significant source of inspiration comes from my talented and thoughtful colleagues. Their mentorship has been instrumental in my growth, and the team has fostered my inquisitiveness to bring the most value to our clients I possibly can."

Sydney takes great pride in her most recent experience leading an international launch strategy project. "By far my proudest achievement since joining Kx Advisors was working with a transatlantic team of Kx colleagues to create an international launch strategy for a company's expansion into three geographies. Presenting our recommendations to the client's C-suite was a highlight for me, as I was able to walk through our process and findings and showcase our reasoning."

Sydney believes her career empowers her to learn new things each day. "Consulting is full of fresh challenges, which push me outside of my comfort zone and enable me to broaden my skillset with each new task. I enjoy collaborating with experts in their field and leveraging my data analytics skills to create forecasting models for clients. Kx allows me to engage in meaningful conversations about the healthcare industry and help find ways to improve it."

When asked about the best advice she has ever been given, Syndey explained, "When I first began my consulting career, I was told by my consulting mentor never to be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I've taken this with me on every project I've worked on, always working with my colleagues to bridge any gaps in expertise or skill set to serve our clients best. I was also advised to keep everything that I work on during a project aligned with the goal of answering the client's key question. This mantra has saved both time and effort and negated slides that didn't directly apply to the questions we were answering."

What does this recognition mean to you? "Given the pivoting between projects after we've wrapped a final presentation, this award would highlight my project teams' efforts as well as the impact of the work we do. I also believe that this award is a formal recognition of the value of my ideas. While I have the support and guidance of my team, this external award validates my contributions and propels me forward in the industry."