The 2023 Women Leaders in Consulting: Meghan Jutca

Meghan Jutca is a traveling, wine and music-loving, die-hard(ish) sports fan from Pennsylvania. She attended Villanova University where she majored in Management with a triple minor in MIS, Spanish and International Business. She studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain for a semester and traveled through Europe, which is when she first developed an affinity for travel and exploring other countries and cultures.

After graduating from Villanova, she began her career at PWC in Management Consulting Services. Campus hires were put through a three-month technical bootcamp where they learned to code Java. Meghan discovered coding Java was not her strong suit (nor was part of the job description) and was told by a teacher she would not make it in consulting.

After completing the bootcamp and returning to their respective offices, she was staffed on a client engagement implementing PeopleSoft HRMS and began to thrive. Through that engagement, She found her calling in human capital advisory. Since then, Meghan has been delivering large HR transformation projects that took her to Central and South America, France  London and India. She is infinitely thankful to everyone who saw, and continues to see, limitless potential in her capabilities.

What do you consider your greatest personal or professional achievement?

I have been in professional services my entire 20+-year career and by virtue of my very first project, which was a Human Capital Management system implementation, I found my calling and grew into a human capital advisory subject matter expert. It has been incredible living and witnessing the evolution of the HR function throughout my career, including the increased importance placed on the workforce and the function governing the workforce. People are a company's greatest asset and being able to solve challenges related to the workforce has been exciting, challenging and deeply rewarding. Having garnered a wide variety of skills and experiences working for two of the big four firms culminated in a career move to Riveron where I joined as the Human Capital Advisory leader to build and grow the practice. Being presented this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build something from the ground up in the professional services space is both humbling and thrilling and I am proud to say we have grown to a nearly $5 million practice in three years (COVID-era).

What advice would you give to a female consultant just beginning her career?

"Earn it first, then go get it.

Examining my own career, I would give the following advice to an incoming female consultant. First, do not be afraid to advocate for yourself. I have been fortunate to have a few mentors throughout my career who have helped me realize my impact in this industry, the strength of my talents, and believe in my worth. I will forever treasure these colleagues for helping me to see my potential and encouraging and championing my professional growth.

Second, hard work, determination, and discipline are essential qualities a consultant must have to be successful. Continue to learn and grow in a variety of skills, and then, pay it forward through mentoring and coaching and by collaborating with others in the workplace and in life. There is no greater reward than to give back.

What does this recognition mean to you?

First and foremost, it is an honor to be nominated for this prestigious award by my colleagues and leaders. I have worked hard, and sacrificed long hours and time away from home as a 'road warrior' throughout my career; this is a demanding business but a very rewarding one as well. There are incredibly talented women in this industry blazing trails and to be thought of being amongst them is truly humbling. The desire of human nature is to have hard work and devotion acknowledged and appreciated. This achievement would be the realization of the impact I have had on my clients, co-workers and firm, and the culmination of all my hard work, dedication, loyalty, and sacrifice as the ultimate recognition by the industry I have served my entire professional career.