2023 Top Consultants: Navid Ahdieh

As a strategy consulting executive with 25 years of experience, Navid's expertise lies in designing and embedding new customer, workforce and operational models, as well as delivering capabilities for clients that drive growth and resilience through change and transformation.

Navid specializes in solving complex problems and challenges. He's flipped traditions on their heads by creating new constructs from scratch, ensuring North Highland avoids legacy thinking and behaviors that don't serve the interest of marginalized groups and individuals.

Alongside his role as Managing Director, Navid acts as North Highland's Global Lead for Strategy and Management Consulting, is a key part of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and supports our next-generation talent strategy program (The Academy).

North Highland makes change happen, helping businesses transform by placing people at the heart of every decision. It's how lasting progress is made. With our blend of workforce, customer and operational expertise, we're recognized as the world's leading transformation consultancy. We break new ground today, so tomorrow is easier to navigate.

What has motivated you to excel over the course of your career?

I'm driven to change the status quo for our Firm by finding ways to develop and propel deserving individuals (those with potential and passion, those who represent the world we live in) to reach the next level.

I mobilize untapped talent that hasn't yet had the opportunity or guidance to unleash their potential—whether that's because of the systematic norms that don't celebrate or understand the power of workforce diversity or not having someone in their corner who can drive this necessary change.

I embody my values. Whether by creating new structures, vocalizing the lived experiences of diverse talent, supporting our ERGs through executive sponsorship, or having one-on-one conversations with team members. I strive to be an authentic leader and seek to create a space for them to emotionally and psychologically process what they are going through.

I asked our VP of HR, Jennifer Mancuso, how she would characterize my impact on our Firm and she said, "Navid brings his passion and leadership to our DEI culture as the Executive Sponsor for our DEI strategy, structure and activities. He inspires teams to take a stand for the promotion and development of diverse talent and put action behind our words. He insists on tangible, measurable actions to ensure we are making demonstrable progress with our DEI work. He does this all while demonstrating compassion, understanding, vulnerability, and forgiveness as a leader who recognizes that everyone is on a journey of understanding how to be advocates, allies and champions of DEI cultures."

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

The biggest factor in my success is understanding the importance of human connection—the greatest element to bring people together and positively influence change. And it's helped me to become a transformative leader within North Highland.

I've established changes that needed to happen and have jumped in to develop our DE&I strategy and execution. I promoted female and diverse leaders in our consulting practice groups. I've worked hard to motivate peer leaders in their commitment to DE&I and served as a role model. I've made it clear to the organization that I won't make a material decision that impacts our Firm without considering the perspectives of women and people of color.

I've recently taken over as our Global Leader of Strategy and Management Consulting, involving rolling out the Integrated Leadership Team with leaders from multiple areas of our business. They're a diverse, collaborative team where everyone has a voice and can contribute to change. I have charged them with operating as a Leadership Team (not a Team of Leaders).

I have made it clear to them that success will only be achieved when we are making decisions and mobilizing through their collective leadership and collective intelligence.

Regardless of what I'm working on, I'm never afraid to make bold moves, challenge the status quo, or make people feel uncomfortable for the greater good. I believe that to succeed you can never settle. You must constantly evolve what "good" looks like.

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

There's so much I enjoy and cherish about my career in consulting, but my favorite aspect is the industry's diversity. By diversity, I mean the artistry, innovation, creativity and evidence-based nature of the work and the people-centric way that problems must be solved. No two experiences or people are exactly alike, and there is always room to provide data-driven insights. I think that's wonderful.

I want to see a true representation of what this "diverse" world has to offer at all levels. I've witnessed and experienced the barriers that have affected people of color and women. So, I want to elevate marginalized consultants by providing mentorship, coaching and most of all, a trusted ear to help them achieve their ambitions. I'm genuinely passionate about true change within the consulting industry, and love that I get to be a part of creating it through DE&I initiatives.

I also really enjoy the opportunity to solve the variety of complex challenges that my role brings, whether it's helping our own firm positively progress toward more diversity and inclusion or supporting a client through major transformations. Having an outside-in and unassuming perspective means I can get to the root cause of a client's most pressing challenges without introducing unfair biases. I can uncover the real meaning of the words or language used by our clients (and their customers) and appreciate the impact of my contributions across organizations and within individuals.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

I'm proud of my achievements as a developer of future leaders and the Global Lead of Strategy and Management Consulting. I've united a diverse and dynamic group of individuals and pushed the firm to break what should be broken—like bias, regressive practices, and only seeking or accepting a white male perspective.

I understand our industry should be more integrated. We need the right people, with the right expertise, working together to design the best solution for our clients. Whereas other firms work in silos, I've worked hard to integrate our Practices in ways that enable consultants to think holistically about how we solve problems. For example, our consultants have expanded their thinking to understand we need data to fully understand our client's problems that there will be process changes needed in the course of helping our clients that technology can help our clients tackle challenges in a way that leads to operational efficiency, and that most solutions require a focus on adoption to achieve sustainability and resilience in the change and transformation they are pursuing.

I've contributed to revolutionizing the way North Highland brings its capabilities and craft together—and inspired a strategy that shapes our entire client value proposition. My achievement is best summed up by our Manager of Strategy, Zach Johnson, "Before Navid's work in this space, we showed up as experts. Now, we show up as a culture of experts—always learning, growing, and doing what's right for our clients and people."

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

A key piece of advice I've been given—and imparted to the team—is to always be curious and never settle for anything less. You need to balance logic and passion, you have to stop starting and start finishing, you must favor progress over perfection, and find inspiration in small, regular changes that make a difference to those you serve. You should also speak up and push for change, surrounding yourself with the right people to allow your skills to shine. Sometimes you will need to break or restructure things that don't work and redesign them to create an impact—and it's vital that you receive the support to do so.

I also think it's important to be yourself, a lesson I've shared with many others, including AVP, Courtney Albert. She said "When working toward the role I play today, there were not many examples of women that looked like me or showed up like me. That can be a very hard path to walk because there's no one to emulate or compare yourself to find out if you are getting it right or not. Navid and I have had many conversations about my career and the different positions that I have been asked to and will be asked to step into, and there's never been a conversation where I was encouraged to be inauthentic to myself."

What does this recognition mean to you?

It is wonderful to receive recognition as the first minority global leader of Strategy and Management Consulting for my hard work and dedication to our people and our craft. Internally, I've been recognized for working toward transformative change and inclusivity: "Navid is a passionate supporter of DE&I and a leader that talks the talk and embodies a dedication to bold action. He acts on his commitment to DE&I every day and the changes in the firm over the last year reflect those actions" (Sucheta Misra, VP of DE&I). It is also great to receive external recognition.

On top of this, it means that I—an individual who doesn't have a traditional DE&I title —can take a foundational and fundamental stance. Everything we do impacts DE&I, so it should be at the center of how we show up as a workforce. It sits on all our shoulders—it's not something to be sidelined or solved by marginalized groups.

Finally, the award further validates North Highland's position as a leader of change and transformation, and as an organization that puts its people first.