The 2023 Rising Stars of the Profession: Ryan Lock

Ryan Lock, a Manager in Alexander Group's Chicago office, built his reputation by combining business depth and client advocacy expertise. Ryan focuses on growing client relationships by understanding the content and context of what each project requires. In addition, he works closely with team members to ensure disparate ideas develop into value-driven solutions. He also supports each project with exceptional project management skills and ultimately creates trusted advisor relationships that benefit our clients and Alexander Group's long-term performance.

During his tenure at Alexander Group, Ryan consistently takes primary responsibility for account quality and service delivery. As a result, his peers look to him to recommend and develop client solutions that lead to beneficial outcomes, create a go-to trusted advisor relationship with clients, and adapt quickly to evolving client situations. Ryan also provides project value by attending to detail, bringing clarity and simplicity to complex situations, and consistently delivering high-quality work products.

Ryan, a Babson College graduate, earned a B.S. in Finance. Before joining Alexander Group, he worked for a market research firm, analyzing survey data to help companies evaluate the demand for potential new product launches in the technology sector. Previously, Ryan worked in the commercial lending department at M&T Bank, where he was part of a data analytics team responsible for evaluating the risk associated with the commercial loan portfolio.

What would you say has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

Keeping the focus on the business outcome our clients need us to drive during projects. This can get blurry as projects progress, but not losing sight of the business objective and anchoring work around this has led to positive results.

What do you enjoy most about your career in the consulting industry?

Interesting work and fast pace. We are solving key business issues for clients and thus, the work is high-impact and we get to support rapid change.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

Leading a successful project focused on a new service offering for my firm. This unlocked many new project opportunities across the firm and allowed me to become an internal subject matter expert on the topic.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

Challenging our clients in a respectful way and providing alternative perspectives is critical to achieving a positive result. Most clients hired us for an outside perspective, we need to provide it and be cautious of overemphasizing what we think they want to hear.

What does this recognition mean to you?

It's rewarding to be recognized for the hard work and dedication that working in consulting requires. I'm also proud to represent my company, Alexander Group, as this firm has been an incredible place to build a career over the past 5+ years and continues to enable my success every day.