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*Site designed for Internet Explorer 5 or greater Printable PDF version (click here) |
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February 2010 |
(Volume 1 / 2010) |
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*Site designed for Internet Explorer 5 or greater Printable PDF version (click here) |
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February 2010 |
(Volume 1 / 2010) |
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Welcome!
The Alumni Team is pleased to present the latest edition of AlumniMatters, A.T.
Kearney North America's quarterly alumni newsletter. We are committed to
providing our alumni with up-to-date and interesting information about the firm,
and hope you enjoy this issue!
If you have any news (personal or career) that you would like to share for the
next edition of the newsletter, please reach out to the team at
AlumniMatters@atkearney.com and provide a short update. |
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Update From Our North American Alumni Program Leader |
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We kicked off 2010 with great hope and confidence, building on the momentum we regained at the end of 2009. We completed the year on a high note, and as difficult as the year was, we maintained our focus, we delivered client excellence and we gained share in the market. This year offers tremendous potential, and we’re off to a strong start. We intend to sustain our performance and proactively seize opportunities to build our business by continuing to invest in three key areas: our people, our ideas and our brand. As always, our people are our top priority, and we are working hard to ensure that we take advantage of the rich diversity we have throughout the firm to improve our performance and our competitiveness. We were not at a loss for ideas last year—producing over 150 publications last year. And, we are continuing to build our brand and market visibility with our key stakeholders, including our alumni! Sustaining our performance also demands we have strong leadership in place, and we congratulate Chris Ahn (San Francisco) and Jeremy Barker (Sydney) on their election to the firm’s board of directors. They take over from John Yoshimura (Chicago) and Mark van Weegan (Atlanta). We are also pleased that Laura Gurski (Chicago) has been named global coordinator for our Consumer Goods and Retail practice and Bob Haas (New York) will serve as the global coordinator for our SITP practice. It’s also our pleasure to welcome back to the firm Sherif Mityas, vice president (Chicago) and Dave Donnan, vice president (Chicago). Sherif is returning after serving as the President and C.E.O. of Movie Gallery Inc. and Dave returns after serving as president of Checkpoint Systems and Bridge Strategy Group. It’s great to have them back in the A.T. Kearney family! As always, we look forward to hearing what’s happening with you, and encourage you to check out our enhanced Career Resources Center and to join our A.T. Kearney Global Alumni and Employee Network on Facebook and LinkedIn! |
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Career Resource Center Announcement — Resume Book & Search Features Added |
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The impact of our Career Resource Center (CRC), launched in July 2009, continues to grow. Currently, there are nearly 180 employers registered and more than 170 active jobs posted worldwide. Over 16,000 alumni and 3,000 current A.T. Kearney employees worldwide have access to the CRC. We’ve heard placement success stories from executive recruiters and alumni who have both posted and searched for jobs through the portal, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We want to continue to hear your success stories – please email us and let us know what you think! Applicants - If you are considering a new position and haven’t yet checked out the CRC, we encourage you to do so. In addition to searching for great opportunities, you can save specific searches and have them run periodically – if there’s a new match, you will get an email about it! The resume book feature was also recently added, so now potential recruiters can find you more easily. Recruiters - Any individual, whether an A.T. Kearney alumnus or not, has the capability of registering as a recruiter to post jobs and search the resume book. Note that if you are an alumnus and want to post a job or seek candidates, you will first have to register on the CRC as a recruiter (separate login ID and password from your Alumni Directory credentials). Contact us at the CRC email address below if you or your colleagues need any support to register as a recruiter. To take advantage of the CRC, go to www.atkearney.com and click on the “alumni” link. Once you log in with your alumni directory ID and password, click on the “alumni career opportunities” link to access the Career Resource Center. You can view your profile and begin browsing and applying for jobs immediately. As always, if you have any questions or feedback on the CRC, please email us at the CRC email address (CareerResourceCenter@atkearney.com). We hope you make the best out of this new resource! |
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A.T. Kearney has hosted, sponsored, or participated in a number of alumni and executive events in the past few months. We look forward to many more, and hope to see you there! |
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Past Events |
December 9
– The Innovation Engine-Telephony/Connected Planet live webcast. Alex Liu (San Francisco), as part of a panel
discussion, presented on how telecom service providers are providing innovation
and whether it is enough to fend off their growing set of rivals. To listen to
the webcast please visit:
https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlettarget=registration.jsp&eventid= January 13 – National Retail Federation Annual Convention and
Expo.
Dean Hillier (Toronto) and Joel Alden (Toronto) presented the results of the
first A.T. Kearney Achieving Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) study. For
more information on the AERO study please go to:
http://www.atkearney.com/index.php/Our- January 19 – Release of A.T. Kearney/GMA Science and Education Foundation Study “Consumer Product Fraud: Detection and Deterrence. A team of A.T. Kearney consultants (Jim Morehouse, Constanze Freienstein, Lola Cardoso and Sara Matlock) working with the GMA quantified the costs to industry resulting from consumer product fraud ($10 - $15 billion per year), and provided recommendations on best practices for responding to this global challenge. For more information on this study please go to: www.atkearney.com/consumer-fraud. January 24-26 – Business Process Outsourcing & Shared Services Exchange. A.T. Kearney co-sponsored this IQPC event, which included the Organization & Transformation team meeting with top decision makers from companies such as Nestle, Warner Bros., Eli Lilly & Co., Pitney Bowes, Air Canada, American Greetings, Applied Materials, Bumble Bee Foods, SunTrust Bank, Yahoo! and CH2M Hill. Ken Lee (Cambridge), Melanie Schmidt (San Francisco) and Jeff Postma (Chicago) presented on the topic, “The Evolution of Shared Services.” January 25 – Press Conference: A.T. Kearney presented the results
of the 2010 FDI Index Confidence Index. The A.T. Kearney
Mexico City office held a press conference to present A.T. Kearney's 2010 FDI
Confidence Index. Approximately 30 news organizations attended the conference.
For more information on the FDI Confidence Index please go to:
http://www.atkearney.com/index.php/News-media/corporate-fdi-plans-on- January 28 – A.T. Kearney’s 4th West Coast Chief Procurement Officer Executive Roundtable. The roundtable was held at the Yahoo! Sunnyvale Headquarters and was attended by senior supply management executives. The topics addressed included “Driving Innovation into Supply Management in Turbulent Times”, “Procurement Salary Survey and Implications for Talent Acquisition” and “Results of 2009 Survey on Compliance Management Strategies within Procurement”. Sumit Chandra (Chicago) and Tejal Thakkar (San Francisco) presented for A.T. Kearney. February 1 – Release of A.T. Kearney/Carbon Disclosure Project Supply Chain 2010 Report. A team led by Daniel Mahler (Zurich) and Stephen Easton (London) analyzed data from a survey of 44 CDP members and 710 suppliers to these companies. This report provides a summary of best practices for working with suppliers to reduce carbon emissions. For more information on this report please go to: http://www.atkearney.com/CDPSupplyChain2010. February 2 – GMA/FMI Supply Chain Conference. Sean Monahan (New York) and Scott DeCarlo,
Director of Customer Supply Chain for Unilever, presented at this conference
attended by more than 500 retail and CPG supply chain executives. The title of
the presentation was “Consumer-Focused SKU Optimization.”
For more information on this conference
please go to:
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e= February 10 – Mexican Council of the Consumer Goods Industry - CONMEXICO (Consejo Mexicano de la Industria de Productos de Consumo). Alejandro Martinez (Mexico City) presented the results of the study titled “Performance Evaluation of Mexico Supply Chains” – a presentation of A.T. Kearney’s Mexico Supply Chain Study for the Ministry of Economy to the 30 largest consumer goods companies in Mexico. |
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Local Alumni Events |
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January 15 – Chicago Alumni Meet & Greet. The Chicago office hosted an Alumni Meet & Greet on January 15th at the Metropolitan club in downtown Chicago. The casual event included a presentation by North America Unit Leader, John Yoshimura, on the “State of the Firm”. John presented a summary of the North America unit’s financial performance in 2009 and shared the firm’s key focus areas for 2010 and beyond. We had a great turnout with more than 51 alumni attending. Attendees had questions on the outlook for the consulting industry in the years ahead, the firm’s diversity initiatives and insights from the latest Global Business Policy Council (GBPC) research. Attendance at these events has grown significantly since we started organizing them last year. We hope this trend continues and more of our alumni join us to reminisce and catch up.
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Upcoming Events |
March 10 – Mexican Institute of Executives in Foreign Trade – IMECE (Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos en Comercio Exterior). Alejandro Martinez (Mexico City) will present the results of the study titled “Performance Evaluation of Mexico Supply Chains” - a presentation of A.T. Kearney’s Mexico Supply Chain Study for the Ministry of Economy to a number of executives working in foreign trade. March 16 – Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) Science Forum. Jim Morehouse (Chicago) will present the results of the GMA/A.T. Kearney study, “Consumer Product Fraud: Detection and Deterrence” as part of a panel discussion. For more information on the conference please go to: http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=d30abb9d-3562-49cc-a7cf-185efb887c39 March 24 – A.T. Kearney/ISM Center for Strategic Supply Leadership Program. Randy Watson (Atlanta) will present the results of the A.T. Kearney CDP Supply Chain 2010 Report at this session titled, “Sustainability and Green: Moving from Concept to Action.” For more information on this program please go to: http://www.cssl.ws/programs/program19.cfm.
April 1 – Sourcing Interests Group Global Sourcing Summit.
Randy Watson (Atlanta) will present the results of the A.T. Kearney CDP Supply
Chain 2010 Report as part of a panel discussion. In addition, Olivier Aries
(Cambridge) and Jeff Postma (Chicago) will be present on the topic of “Offshoring
and Outsourcing in 2015.” For more information on this conference please go to:
http://www.sourcinginterests.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4638
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Local Alumni Events – Coming Soon! |
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Local alumni teams are hard at work planning alumni events for 2010, including an April or May event in Seattle for the San Francisco office, spring events for Cambridge and New York and a fall event for Dallas. Please be on the lookout for more information and invitations coming soon! |
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For more information regarding any of these events, please contact Bob Gordon at bob.gordon@atkearney.com. |
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At the IC Corner,
check out a selection of the latest thought pieces that A.T. Kearney
consultants have developed. Whether you are looking for fresh ideas to
take back to your company or just want to satisfy the remnant consulting
itch, take a look at these titles and visit our website for the full articles. A complete list of
articles can be found at our
Publications
Website
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A Green China or a Gray China? Taking preemptive measures to build a green nation should no longer be an option but an imperative for China, especially given the serious challenges and opportunities to create a future economic growth engine. Bernhard Hartmann (Shanghai) |
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Coming of "The Ten" The economic crisis of 2008-2009 may be nearing its end, but the shape and dynamics of the global economy have changed. In this commentary, Martin Walker argues that the emergence of 10 middle-income countries is powering a new engine for the global economy. Martin Walker (Washington, DC) |
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"Outside the Box" Distribution What separates the distribution leaders from those that struggle? The leaders “think outside the box” to deliver best-in-class service to their customers in a way that reduces costs and increases profits. These companies benchmark beyond industry boundaries, challenge preconceived notions and take advantage of early successes to push broader change. Joachim Ebert (Chicago), Kumar Venkataraman (Chicago), Michael Hu (Chicago) |
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Consultant Spotlight: Marcy Beitle |
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Marcy Beitle Congratulations to Marcy on being named to Consulting Magazine’s 2009 List of Women Leaders in Consulting for her achievements in Leadership! A consultant at A.T. Kearney since 1995, Marcy has served in a number of key leadership roles including Practice Lead of the Organization & Transformation practice and currently as a member of the North American Leadership Team. Marcy writes, “This award is a splendid affirmation that putting clients first and striving to develop a capable organization is essential and valued.” |
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Why did you get into consulting? |
My father was a doctor, so I grew up with more of a scientific bent. I excelled in college and business school in these areas and earned a degree in mathematics and technology. I started my career as a technology consultant, but after five years I happened to be in the right place at the right time and had an opportunity to work on a more classic business consulting engagement that dealt with the many strategic issues facing the telecommunications industry. While my performance on the engagement was not especially memorable, I will always remember getting a very appetizing taste of the kind of work one does as a management consultant… and have never looked back. Since then, I have been working to master the art of consulting over the last 20 years. |
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What do you enjoy most about the work that you do? |
As the consulting industry has developed over the last two decades, clients are demanding more, their issues are continually evolving and competition is ever-increasing. This is a profession where one never settles in and rests easy. It is an environment that is continuously challenging. The more you know, the more your clients expect of you. As a career, consulting is guaranteed to keep you on your toes. In my career I have been fortunate to play a leadership role in Fortune 100 client accounts, women’s networks, A.T. Kearney practice groups, and more recently, the firm’s North American business. For me the challenge has been to never get too far from the client. That is what I thrive on and what I enjoy the most. This professional aspiration aligns well with our culture at A.T. Kearney, where we recognize everything we do is ultimately about client service. In my opinion, being a successful leader in a consulting organization requires one to stay engaged with clients. Whether developing capable consultants, anticipating client issues before they do, or creating lasting value that goes well beyond an engagement, a successful consultant never strays far from the client. |
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What does it mean to be a woman in consulting? |
As a woman in consulting, I have faced many challenges of an industry which is traditionally male dominated, including challenging the traditional “profile” of what it is to be a successful consultant, balancing career with motherhood, avoiding gender-based stereotypes and persisting despite the lack of role models. On the other hand, what I believe to be the most critical ingredient to being a successful consultant and leader is emotional intelligence (EQ), an area where women tend to excel. In my experience, the most successful consultants have an innate ability to form meaningful relationships which are built on trust and connection. Connecting with people, whether colleagues or clients, is what enables the consulting model to generate value. As consultants become more senior, some of the softer, less tangible characteristics (such as finesse, emotional intelligence, connection, passion, and insight) tend to trump the more traditional definition of consulting strengths (such as analytical, expert, and know-how). In the end, we all need to play to our strengths. Knowing your strengths, building on them, and partnering with others to fill any gaps are essential elements to being a capable leader in consulting. For me, I believe being a woman has positioned me to bring a different perspective and strength to our clients and A.T. Kearney. |
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What do you like to do in your free time? |
I spend my free time with my two daughters who keep me grounded and very busy. Living in the “horse country” of New Jersey (though I don’t like horses), we are often outdoors whether it is ice skating, taking walks through the “Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge”, biking, or searching “Webkinz” or “Breakable Erasers”. One of the girls’ favorite things to do is join Mom in a visit to the NY Office where they run through the halls, “do work” with Charlotte McRobbie and Tammie Lay and take advantage of a very lucrative channel for selling Girl Scout Cookies to A.T. Kearney employees (remember, it is for a good cause). |
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Alumni News |
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1980s |
 Roger "Scott" Feldmann Scott, a Partner with Crowell & Moring LLP, has been selected by his peers for inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America" for intellectual property, and for inclusion in "Southern California Super Lawyers." |
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1990s |
James Abruzzo James is currently Managing Director of DHR International, Inc. and Co-Director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School. Curt Andersson Curt Andersson was recently named president of the Goodyear’s North American Tire business unit, effective February 16th. Prior to joining Goodyear, Curt Andersson was president of Cooper Crouse-Hinds of Syracuse, N.Y. and also served in the past as senior vice president of industrial integration for The Timken Company and general manager of aviation information services for General Electric. Elizabeth (Betty) Black Elizabeth (Betty) Black, President of Change For Results (www.changeforresults.com) just accepted an appointment to the Board of Directors for ’mktg inc.’, an alternative media and marketing services company headquartered in New York City with full service offices in San Francisco, Chicago and Cincinnati. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mktg-inc-announces-change-in-board-of-directors-82968492.html Mark Coming “Greetings to all fellow alumni! I just finished my fourth year with Charles River Associates – hard to believe that much time has passed since leaving A.T. Kearney! I am now leading our business development team for the North American Industrial Sector and we are very busy integrating our recent acquisition of Marakon. Should be a fun 2010! On a personal note, my oldest daughter started her freshman year at Ohio University this past fall, so we are busy adjusting to the start of what should be at least ten straight years of college tuition payments! Yikes! Wish us luck!” Kurt Daniel Kurt Daniel was recently named Chief Operating Officer at WorkLight (www.worklight.com), a Manhattan-based software company that is focused on enterprise-class widgets for mobile, desktops and websites. Kurt was previously a Senior Vice President at Parallels, a Seattle-based software company focused on virtualization and automation software for consumers, businesses and service providers. Clayton Press Clayton Press is currently an art advisor and management consultant to high net worth families, family offices, and philanthropies. Clayton was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Museum of Contemporary Art, a new Kunsthalle headquartered in Morganville, New Jersey. In addition, he was appointed Adjunct Instructor at SUNY New York, where he is teaching Strategic Marketing in the Visual Arts and Art Economics. Conrad Snover Conrad is currently a Partner at Denali Group, www.denaliusa.com. |
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2000s |
Gordon Scott Gordon Scott has been with Panduit for over 7 years now. Currently VP, Process Improvement. “Kathy and I are still playing zone coverage with our 11 year old triplets, and loving life. We are certainly blessed, and busy.” Jorge Margain “After two and a half years working for AREA Property Partners (f.k.a. Apollo Real Estate Advisors), I made the decision to move to a family office called Tresalia Capital to head the real estate investment group. I moved to Mexico City in January of 2009 after living for four years in Philadelphia and New York City.” Chris Paddison “I am pleased to announce that effective January 1st, I have accepted the Chief Operating Officer position at Sound Physicians. Sound partners with US hospitals to achieve measurable performance improvements through our focus on clinical process excellence and dedicated hospitalist physicians. We will be relocating to Tacoma, WA, in June after the school year ends.” |
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Adam Neary Adam, formerly a Vice President at AlixPartners, has just resigned from his role to launch a technology start-up. Currently operating in "stealth mode" until branding is finalized, the company will be providing business intelligence solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. To help drive progress, Adam is engaged with an NYC-based start-up incubator, while he is building out the team, developing the prototype, and beginning to engage the initial customer base. |
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Mary Larson
“In January, I joined a firm called Brimstone Consulting Group as a Managing Director. The firm does large-scale organizational transformations for global clients, and I am excited to become one of the members of the senior leadership team. The firm is virtual, so I will stay in Montreal.” Patrick Merfert “After leaving A.T. Kearney, I joined Easton Capital Investment Group - a Venture Capital firm in New York focused primarily on healthcare/life sciences as well as technology and other businesses. As the sole Analyst directly supporting multiple Managing Directors, I have had great exposure to all facets of the business and particularly enjoy interacting with passionate and brilliant entrepreneurs.” |
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New Alumni |
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Cambridge |
P.S. Subramaniam PS is continuing to learn and apply forecasting and replenishment principles as a Senior Manager at Nokia based in Dallas. He and his team are responsible for demand planning and fulfillment for all customer accounts in US and Canada. |
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New York |
Shuhag Ghosh After eleven years in consulting, specializing primarily in the CIRP practice, Shuhag is moving to industry as VP Strategy and Business Development with Reed Elsevier, an online media and publishing company. She writes: “While the role and its possibilities are exciting, needless to say, I will really miss the firm, the people and the experiences – it’s been a great ride. I’ve learnt a lot, had a lot of fun and made some lasting friendships. I look forward to seeing the NY folks at the Alumni events.” Way Luu Way joined the firm in 2007 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. With extensive consulting experience in the retail industry, Way recently accepted an offer to join Ann Taylor. She writes: “It has been a pleasure working with such exceptional colleagues and friends. Thank you for having made the last three years a truly rewarding experience. I wish you all the best of luck in the future and hope we can keep in touch.” Orrin Pail Orrin joined the firm in 2007 with a BBA from University of Michigan. At A.T. Kearney, Orrin gained experience in the retail and automotive industries, including the opportunity to work abroad in Europe. Orrin is pursuing a path in medicine and has enrolled in the Post Baccalaureate Premed Program at Columbia University. He writes: “Even though I am leaving the firm to pursue a passion, it was a very difficult decision to make. I have gained so much from working with you all over the last two years, and I still feel there is much more to learn. The professional experience I’ve had working with so many talented and driven colleagues, as well as the personal relationships I’ve forged with so many of you will stay with me for years to come.” |
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San Francisco |
William Chen As a Sr. B.A. in Chicago (2 years) and San Francisco (6 months), Will’s project experience included business restructuring, S&OP, rapid cost reduction and supply chain optimization. He will be joining the family business, Checkey, in Hong Kong as Director in Emerging Markets. Checkey manufactures and exports OEM toys and pet products worldwide for brands such as Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Sanrio and PetSafe. He will also be leading the launch of a new business venture in Hong Kong and China. Will is looking forward to the entrepreneurial aspect of the new job and is excited to be moving back to Hong Kong after sixteen years living abroad. Megumi Tsutsui Megumi joined the firm in 2007 after graduating from Stanford University. As a Sr. B.A. out of the San Francisco office, Megumi was able to work on a wide array of projects from transportation strategy to organizational transformation. She recently joined FSG Social Impact Advisors as an Associate Consultant. FSG provides strategic consulting services to a wide array of clients, including foundations, non-profits, governments, and corporations, to increase their impact on philanthropy and the social sector. Megumi is enjoying applying her consulting experience and skills on her new project in the education sector. She is helping the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board define its vision for student success and implement measurable goals to align the many stakeholders of higher education on reaching those goals. |
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For more news and information on A.T. Kearney, please
visit our website –
www.atkearney.com.
We welcome your feedback and comments |
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7/47544/Chicago Production |
