Executive Alignment Delivered: Strengthening a PMO with MBA-Level Consulting Expertise

The Client

Our client is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services, and data analytics. For over 50 years, they have been at the forefront of using big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and algorithmic modeling to decode consumer behavior.

Their insights empower the world’s leading businesses to refine customer engagement strategies and drive growth across industries—from retail to telecommunications and beyond.

As a trusted advisor to major enterprises, they continually seek highly capable consulting talent to strengthen their delivery teams on critical client engagements.

The Challenge

The client was engaged by a leading telecommunications provider to drive a large-scale PMO (Program Management Office) effort—an initiative critical to transforming the telecom’s customer-facing operations.

To meet the engagement’s demands, the client needed to augment their team with additional consulting horsepower. Specifically, they were looking for a PMO Consultant who could:

• Own workstream-level deliverables and timelines
• Prepare and align governance materials for C-level audiences
• Operate with minimal supervision in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

Key qualifications included:

• 2–5 years of management consulting experience
• Proven ability to present and influence at the C-suite level
• An MBA strongly preferred, with a focus on structured problem-solving, stakeholder management, and project delivery

Our Approach

We targeted early-career consultants from top management consulting firms who had recently completed MBA programs—or who combined hands-on consulting experience with natural executive presence.

Priority was given to candidates who had worked in ambiguous, large-enterprise settings and could demonstrate comfort with structured communication, project management, and executive engagement.

Telecom industry experience was not required—the focus was on consulting skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to deliver against complex program objectives.

The Placement

We placed a Harvard MBA graduate (with distinction) who brought a powerful blend of consulting toolkit, strategic thinking, and project management excellence. Highlights of his background include:

• Two years of post-MBA strategy consulting experience
• Extensive experience managing enterprise-level projects in dynamic, ambiguous environments
• Strong history of presenting to and influencing C-suite stakeholders
• Expertise in strategy development, operations optimization, financial analysis, and business case development
• A technology enthusiast with a track record of driving system implementations to improve organizational performance
• Deep emotional intelligence and a problem-solving mindset, critical for navigating cross-functional initiatives

His analytical rigor, customer-centric orientation, and ability to synthesize complex insights into actionable deliverables made him an immediate asset to the PMO team.

The Outcome

The consultant quickly integrated into the client’s program structure—owning deliverables, aligning governance materials for executive steering committees, and driving progress across a key PMO workstream.

By embedding structured, strategic consulting expertise within the project team, the client strengthened their ability to deliver high-quality results for their telecom end-client—reinforcing their position as a trusted partner in enterprise transformation.