Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders in Business Consulting & Services of 2023. The representation of women in the consulting and advisory field has experienced a consistent upward trend over recent years. According to data provided by Inner Circle Consulting, the number of female consultants has risen by 191% during the past two decades. By shattering traditional gender barriers, these exceptional women occupy various roles where they utilize their profound industry expertise and problem-solving abilities to assist clients in navigating intricate challenges and making well-informed decisions.
Their influence can be found across diverse sectors, including technology, healthcare, financial services, among many others. Notably, these women leaders not only champion diversity within the consulting industry but also serve as inspirational figures, motivating and empowering other women to pursue leadership positions in the corporate world, thus fostering more inclusive and equitable work environments.
Some of the distinguished honorees on this year’s list include Wendy Freeman Carr, a Managing Director with Deloitte US Consulting. Carr has over 30 years of experience leading business and technology transformations for clients like the U.S. Department of State and Foreign Ministries in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Egypt. Next we have Rachel Paul, who leads the Midwest team for KPMG's Global Mobility Services practice.
Among other roles, Paul currently serves as a member of KPMG's Women's Advisory Board and a mentor for members of the African Ancestry Business Resource Group. Lastly, this year we honorJacqui Winters, who is a Principal in Deloitte Consulting’s Government & Public Services Human Capital Practice, and also serves as the National Leader for DEI for People with Disabilities and their allies at Deloitte.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Leaders in Business Consulting & Services of 2023.
2. Jackie Norell
Managing Director, Deloitte Consulting
Jackie Norell is the Managing Director of Deloitte Consulting. With 23 years of professional experience in financial management, Jackie has served in a variety of leadership and technical roles throughout her career. She operates across all government sectors where she provides strategic business transformation and financial management solutions. Her areas of focus include finance strategy, financial operations, tech adoption and modernization, service delivery model implementation, strategic planning, performance measurement, and business process improvement.
Jackie also has a depth of experience as a financial analyst where she delivered cost accounting, forensic costing, and customer relationship management solutions. She holds a BA in chemistry and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Virginia Tech. She is a Certified Government Financial Manager and Program Management Professional.
4. Lydia Sy
Managing Director, ManpowerGroup
Lydia Sy is the Managing Director of ManpowerGroup, the leading global workforce solutions company, which helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing, and managing the talent that enables them to win. A 30-year veteran of the staffing industry, Sy has a broad knowledge of human resources, including recruiting, staffing, workforce development, safety, training, management, and sales. Before joining Manpower, she was a small business owner in Central Maine and worked extensively in the restaurant industry.
Sy serves as past chair of the Coastal Counties Workforce Investment Board, past president of the Midcoast Human Resource Association, and is the current Director for the SHRM Maine State Council. In these roles as well as her position at Manpower, she works closely with small businesses and large corporations to develop workforce solutions and partnerships that effectively connect people to work.
Sy is a member of the Kennebec Valley Human Resource Association and a member of the Mid-Maine and Kennebec Valley Chambers and has done volunteer work with JMG, Work Ready, and various youth and community agencies. Sy holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Thomas College and resides in Waterville with her family.
5. Wendy Carr
Managing Director, Deloitte Consulting
Wendy Freeman Carr is a Managing Director with Deloitte US Consulting, one of the world’s leading firms for business strategy, operations, technology, and human resource planning, with a government and public Sector (GPS) practice of over 25,000 professionals. She serves as the Lead Client Service Partner for the District of Columbia, overseeing Deloitte’s Consulting and Advisory services, client relationships, and partnerships with government, non-profit and higher education institutions, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Wendy has over 30 years of experience leading business and technology transformations in the US and abroad, including the District, USAID, DoS, and HUD, and Foreign Ministries in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, and South Sudan. She is a Certified Performance Technologist and a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources who has spoken at numerous conferences internationally and authored white papers on capacity development, talent management, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
She is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a certificate in Executive Leadership from the Yale School of Management. Wendy is a proud, native Washingtonian and has been "married" to her high school sweetheart for 16 years. They live in Bethesda, MD with their 18-year-old son and enjoy traveling to AAU basketball tournaments.
6. Rachel Paul
Partner, KPMG US
Early on, Rachel Paul discovered that her chosen career as an accountant and her passion for global travel and culture meshed perfectly with global mobility - the process of supporting business needs through the movement of employees. Nearly 25 years later, she leads the Midwest team for KPMG's Global Mobility Services practice, where they provide top-notch payroll, tax, HR, technology, and outsourcing support to companies and their mobile employees. Early in her career, she spent approximately 15 years learning her craft and understanding the needs of her clients and their employees while based in Melbourne, Australia, Denver, Colorado, and traveling to projects on six different continents.
During her career, she has provided and coordinated global mobility advisory services and US and non-US tax compliance for mobile populations of all sizes. During her time spent on assignment in Australia and working on six continents, she obtained a first-hand understanding of the needs of both mobile employees and their employers. Additionally, she is active in supporting the Culture and Talent efforts at KPMG, including diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Among other roles, she currently serves as a member of KPMG's Women's Advisory Board and a mentor for members of the African Ancestry Business Resource Group. Today, she is based in Chicago and splits her time between the office and her home in rural southern Illinois, which she shares with her husband and teenage son.
8. Jacqui Winters
Principal, Deloitte Consulting
Jacqui Winters is a Principal in Deloitte Consulting’s Government & Public Services Human Capital Practice. She has more than 20 years in management consulting, during which she has assisted government leaders to execute their most complex priorities. Jacqui focuses on modernization from the core of government, including programs that enable the agencies to re-imagine their delivery of critical functions, such as HR, IT, and Acquisitions. Jacqui was instrumental in working with Deloitte’s Center for Government Insights in the research and development of Deloitte’s offerings, such as Human Centered Change, Future of Work, and Trust in Government. Jacqui serves as the National Leader for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for People with Disabilities and their allies at Deloitte, supporting a large global workforce to create the best possible talent experience for everyone. As a leader in Deloitte’s Human Capital practice, she designs agile organizations, empowers leaders, and develops teams to be prepared for the constant disruptions of today’s digital age.
She is a founding board member for Our Stomping Ground - a not-for-profit that creates inclusive, affordable communities for people with disabilities. She lives in Falls Church, VA with her husband David and their two teenage boys. She graduated with a BA in English from Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC, and she earned her MBA at The College of William and Mary.
11. Christine Medina
Principal, Deloitte Consulting
Christine Medina is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting, where she leads their Application Modernization & Innovation Healthcare sector practice. In her practice leadership role, she is responsible for driving Deloitte’s go-to-market strategy in the sector, as well as helping clients realize business value through AI, modernization, and the cloud. Christine also works with some of the largest healthcare organizations in the country, helping them with their most strategic and complex transformations. She leads large-scale global technology programs that have resulted in first-in-industry solutions and serve as the foundation for improving the quality of care and health equity while creating efficiencies.
As a partner in a $60B global firm, Christine is proud of the diversity she brings to the leadership team and is passionate about driving change not only in the business world but in our communities as well. She currently serves as the head of the board for Philadelphia StepUp, which is an initiative at Deloitte focused on delivering pro bono skills-based programs to support local non-profits. She has pioneered and currently leads several other initiatives at Deloitte focused on improving racial, gender, and other inequities.
15. Maria Demeke
Partner & Principal, Deloitte, Government & Public Service Practice
Maria Demeke is a Partner and Principal in Deloitte’s Government and Public Service Practice. She designs workforce solutions for organizations striving to end global poverty. Growing up Ethiopian American, she saw immense disparities both in the US and globally. Now, she dedicates her career to designing and implementing new strategies, to support organizations focused on the eradication of poverty, injustice, and inequality.
As we face unprecedented global challenges, Maria helps organizations transform their impacts by optimizing the workforce, accelerating operations with digital and AI solutions, as well as promoting policies, cultures, and incentives that further advance inclusion and equity. Maria is driven by the philosophy that consulting and service professionals have a responsibility to use the wealth of resources, tools, experiences, and connections to improve society, or in Deloitte terms, “Make an impact that Matters”.
Maria has over 20 years of experience advising US private, non-profit, and public sector agencies, as well as international clients in Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Western Europe. She holds a master of international trade and finance from Harvard University, and a BA in psychology and Africana studies from the University of Pennsylvania. As a wife and proud mother of three young children, she is an advocate for health equity and specifically innovative treatments and policies for rare diseases in the US and abroad.
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17. Nicole Gibson
Partner, Guidehouse
Nicole Gibson is a Partner with Guidehouse in the Defense & Security segment. She has over 23 years of experience providing management-consulting service to the Federal Government providing clients with insight and guidance as they seek to transform their organizations, increase transparency, better serve their customers, and increase operational effectiveness.
Gibson leads teams that provide change management, strategic planning, business process improvement, and customer relationship management services to the Intelligence Community (IC), Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) clients. Under her leadership, her teams of consultants have successfully assisted clients in developing strategies to help guide their programs in changing environments; enhance their critical policies and processes; and improve engagement with their customers, increasing the value of the intelligence products for end users.
Gibson serves on the Advisory Committee (ADCOM) for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), the WashingtonExec Intelligence Community Council, the College of William & Mary (W&M) Washington Center Advisory Board, and the Executive Steering Committee for the Society of 1918 at W&M. Gibson holds an undergraduate degree in European studies from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, and an MBA in public administration from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
18. Anne Kwan
Principal, Deloitte Consulting
Anne Kwan is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP and serves as their Industry Convergence lead. In this role, she works with the US Industry and Client Leadership team to shape future-focused solutions, that anticipate the next wave of cross-industry innovation and drive new business value. Most recently, she served as the US lead for Transformation Strategy and Design (TS&D) services and as the creator of Deloitte’s Chief Transformation Officer (CTrO) program, which delivers immersive experiences and relevant insights to clients.
During her 20+ years of client service and technology industry experience, Anne has helped executives respond to market and technological disruptions by transforming their strategy and operations. She drives profitable growth and competitive advantage by working with teams to conceptualize, design, and execute enterprise transformation programs.
Anne is a thought leader and frequent author on the topics of strategy and transformation. Her research and perspectives offer pragmatic advice and leading practices. Topics include defining growth via new business models, product innovation with ecosystem partners, building new capabilities, and designing more effective enterprise operating models.
19. Julie Meehan
Principal, Deloitte Consulting
Julie Meehan is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting based in the Washington, DC area. She applies her knowledge and experience from over 20 years serving the global private sector to help public sector leaders navigate and solve today’s challenges. Meehan serves as the Lead Client Service Partner for the USPS account, where they apply digital innovation, cyber, data analytics and AI, strategy, customer experience, retail, compliance, financial, and technology expertise to drive measurable business results. She also serves as the Strategy and Transformation Leader for the Civil Government Sector within the Government and Public Services vertical. In this role, she helps identify social, policy, and funding trends that shape the market for our services, and the talent and capability investments needed to serve their current and future clients.
Meehan has worked in professional services for more than 25 years leading transformational programs for delivery and logistics, manufacturing, life sciences, financial services, and government clients. She is passionate about the recruitment, development, and advancement of Talent, and building an inclusive workplace where our people can thrive. While she has a passion for international travel and exploring other cultures and languages, her home base is currently Falls Church, VA, where she lives with her husband Don, twin sons Jack and Charlie, and dog Georgia. Meehan graduated from the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business with an MBA, and from William & Mary with an undergraduate degree.
20. Natalia Montilla
Principal, Salesforce Delivery, Slalom
Natalia Montilla is a Salesforce Delivery Principal at Slalom, a purpose-led global business and technology consulting company, where she serves as a Salesforce Solution Architect. She partners with clients to help them maximize the power of the Salesforce platform, focusing on the user experience. With over 10 years of experience in the ecosystem, she is passionate about designing end-to-end scalable solutions on the Salesforce platform, leveraging the low-code/no-code approach. Problem solver at heart, she enjoys finding solutions to complex problems, automating business processes, troubleshooting, and improving user experience.
Natalia believes in the power of enabling people and using Salesforce to deliver meaningful work.
Before starting her technology consulting career, Natalia spent five years as a civil engineer designer in the state of Maryland. She holds an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, and holds 10 Salesforce certifications.
21. Kate Graeff
Vice President, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Kate Graeff is a Vice President of Enterprise Trust within Deloitte's Risk and Financial Advisory business. In this role, she advises C-Suite executives on opportunities to grow their business, drive loyalty and engagement, and protect their brand by (re)building trust with their stakeholders, whether they are consumers, employees, business partners, regulators, or community members.
Kate's background is in innovation, digital strategy, and entrepreneurship. She has experience defining organizational strategy, shaping new offerings, and designing, developing, and scaling technology solutions for global adoption.
She loves envisioning and shaping the future in response to social, economic, and technological trends. Having worked in over 20 countries around the world, Kate takes a global point of view on the world's biggest challenges and opportunities. Kate holds degrees from the Fletcher School at Tufts and Occidental College.
23. Hua Fang
Managing Director, Black & Veatch
Hua Fang is a Managing Director of Advisory and Planning with Black & Veatch Management. She is a PhD economist with over 20 years of experience in integrated energy market modeling and forecast, asset valuation, and commercial strategy. In her role. Fang oversees Black & Veatch’s Energy Market Perspective (EMP), a comprehensive long-term projection of the energy market outlook, incorporating the latest developments in renewable and storage technology trends, resource costs, environmental policy, federal and state energy initiatives, as well as all aspects of the natural gas and other fuels market trends, utilizing sophisticated software tools such as PLEXOS and GPCM.
Fang co-leads Black & Veatch’s strategy and planning practice and technical and commercial due diligence practice. She has led several recent projects advising utility clients on economic assessment, investment strategies, and customer impacts to meet their decarbonization objectives. She also leads Black & Veatch’s economic and market assessments for emerging zero-carbon technologies, such as clean hydrogen and green ammonia.
Fang is an expert in stochastic simulations, derivative asset pricing, financial and economic modeling, and benefits analysis and has developed sophisticated tools to simulate price, weather, and market uncertainties, quantify risks, and evaluate real options and hedging strategies.
24. Nancy Zielke
Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Nancy Zielke is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services in Kansas City. With more than 35 years of experience, she is a known public finance leader providing innovative operating solutions and strategies to improve financial and operating results. Zielke is an experienced expert witness having testified in state and federal courts serving as an expert witness on financial management and municipal utility matters.
Before joining A&M, Zielke served in CFO and executive budget positions for various state and local governments, higher education, and public utilities in Kansas and Missouri. She successfully led major financial transformation, process and internal control improvements, shared service business models, budget redesign initiatives, and fiscal accountability plans.
Zielke earned a BBA from Adrian College and an MPA from the University of Kansas. She holds an emergency manager certification from Michigan State University. Zielke is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), serving as the National President of GFOA, and continues to serve as Advisor to GFOA’s Standing Committees. She is a member of Women in Public Finance and various State GFOA Chapters.
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26. Victoria Reese
Global Managing Partner Corporate Officers Practice, Heidrick & Struggles
Victoria Reese is a Global Managing Partner in Corporate Officers Practice in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York office and the global managing partner of the Corporate Officers Practice. Heidrick & Struggles is a premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, serving the senior-level talent and consulting needs of the world's top organizations. In their role as trusted leadership advisors, they partner with their clients to develop future-ready leaders and organizations, bringing together their services and offerings in executive search, diversity and inclusion, leadership assessment and development, organization and team acceleration, culture shaping, and on-demand, independent talent solutions.
Before this, she led the Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Government Affairs Practice and was the first global head of Diversity & Inclusion, advancing the firm's commitment to D&I internally and externally. She has served on the H&S Management Committee since 2017.
Reese has more than 20 years of experience in executive search and leadership services with a focus on governance and top legal talent. Before joining Heidrick & Struggles, Reese worked with a boutique financial services recruitment firm focused on recruiting senior management in operational and marketing roles. She also spent five years in various not-for-profit organizations. Reese graduated from Vassar College with an undergraduate degree in history.
29. Stephanie Mansfield
Partner, Heidrick & Struggles
Stephanie Mansfield is a Partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Miami office and a member of the Technology and Financial Officers practices. She works with public, private equity-backed, and venture capital-backed companies across the spectrum of high-growth enterprise and consumer technology companies in the software, internet, marketplace, SaaS, tech-enabled services, and cloud sectors. Stephanie works closely with the CEOs, founders, board directors, and financial sponsors to find talent for companies going through periods of high-growth, transformation, or transactions. She is particularly knowledgeable about CFO talent and senior finance leadership.
With search experience spanning North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, Stephanie brings a global perspective to clients’ needs. She previously spent time working in the firm’s New York, San Francisco and Singapore offices to advise high-growth and leading technology companies. Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Stephanie worked for two boutique executive search firms in London and Asia, where she conducted C-level and senior management assignments for a variety of clients, including private equity firms and other buy-side institutions.
She started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a scholar in the audit and assurance division in London. Stephanie earned her bachelor’s degree with honors in management and Chinese studies from University of Nottingham in the UK.
31. Rebecca Evans
Principal, Roland Berger
Rebecca Evans, based in New York, is a Principal at the management consulting firm, Roland Berger. Rebecca is part of the industrials platform at Roland Berger, focusing on automotive suppliers and OEMs, and specializing in operational strategy, large-scale transformation, and performance improvement. Rebecca is the co-head of Women@RolandBerger Americas, where she guides the Women Leaders in the industry speaker series, as well as various internal initiatives focusing on recruiting, retaining, and developing women in consulting.
Outside of Roland Berger, Rebecca is the author of the non-fiction book, Made to Change: How to Positively Disrupt Your Life. She holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Rebecca is a runner, reader, and wildlife lover, with a hobby of traveling to global locations to trek and photograph wildlife.
32. Elizabeth Zessman
Partner, Heidrick & Struggles
Liz Zessman is a Partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York and Stamford offices, and a member of the global legal, risk, compliance, and government affairs, financial services, and CEO & board practices. Heidrick & Struggles is the premier provider of executive search, corporate culture, and leadership consulting services. For all of the services they offer, they employ data-driven methodologies honed through decades of relationships and engagements with the world's largest organizations. Their expertise enables their clients to find the world's best leaders, create diverse and inclusive cultures, and transform their teams to achieve the highest levels of profitability and performance.
Her early experience at another global executive search firm focused on legal, compliance, and audit functions. Before her career in executive search, Liz practiced law and was admitted to the New York and Connecticut state bars. Originally from Minnesota, Liz earned a BA in international studies with an emphasis in global economy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. As part of her undergraduate program, she spent a semester at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. She earned a JD with concentrations in corporate and tax law from the Cardozo School of Law. While in law school, Liz was co-president of the Cardozo Chapter of the Unemployment Action Center and vice president of Cardozo’s Business Law Society. Liz also earned a master's certificate in human resources from Cornell University.
34. Nicole Deveau
Partner, Grant Thornton LLP, Canada
For nearly 20 years, Nicole Deveau has been making a difference in her client’s businesses by enabling them to accomplish goals they otherwise couldn’t. The National Practice Leader for Grant Thornton LLP Consulting Practice and an Advisory Partner based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Nicole leads a team of talented and community-devoted consulting professionals offering exceptional client service.
In her career, Nicole has provided strategic consulting services to public and private sector clients, as well as First Nations organizations throughout Atlantic Canada, and across the country. Before joining Grant Thornton in 2008, she led a variety of small- and large-scale transformation initiatives within the Nova Scotia public sector and was also a partner in a leading national talent management firm.
Nicole holds a master’s degree in public administration. Passionate about the community, Nicole is currently the National President of the Canadian Progress Club and a member of the local chapter, Canadian Progress Club Halifax Citadel, a dynamic fellowship of charitable-minded Canadians committed to strengthening Canadian communities through hands-on service and fundraising. Nicole also recently finished a seven-year term on the Board of Directors for Phoenix Youth Programs, which delivers much-needed programming and support for at-risk children and youth in the Halifax community and works tirelessly to help local families in their journey to thrive.
35. Emilie Johnson
Principal, Heidrick & Struggles
Emilie Johnson is a Principal in Heidrick & Struggles’ Calgary office and a member of the Global Industrial, Energy, and Supply Chain & Operations Officers Practices. She also leads the North American Energy vertical for the firm’s Engineering, Construction, and Infrastructure Services Practice.
Emilie has over 15 years of executive search experience in the oil and gas, power, chemicals, EPC, and industrial services sectors, both in Canada and the United States. Her practice has increasingly become focused on renewables and clean technology, including solar, wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture. In addition to board and chief executive officer searches, she focuses on executive leadership assignments across engineering, construction, and operations.
Emilie joined Heidrick & Struggles from a national search firm where she was a principal in the oil and gas practice. She is active in the Calgary community, most recently serving on the board of Distress Centre Calgary where she chaired both the Governance & Nominating and Human Resources and Compensation committees. She holds a BA in honors business administration from Western University’s Richard Ivey School of Business.
36. Natasha Sunderji
Global Health Lead, Accenture
Natasha Sunderji is the Global Health Lead for Accenture’s social impact practice, Accenture Development Partnerships. She also co-leads Accenture’s Health Equity Center of Excellence. By engaging Accenture’s global workforce of over 700,000 employees, she works to address the world’s social, economic and environmental issues.
Natasha is a visionary healthcare leader with over 18 years of experience advising multinational companies, nonprofits, foundations, and multilateral agencies on growth strategy, innovative business models, digital health, and cross sector partnerships. She is a vocal advocate for vulnerable and underserved communities.
Natasha strives to drive care delivery transformation for health care organizations through financially sustainable, consumer centric, and data driven business models. She has worked with leading digital health platforms to design patient centric solutions, supported over 30 inclusive business models across low and middle-income countries, and advised policy makers on the regulations and investments needed to create robust digital health ecosystems. She has written multiple articles and reports on the future of healthcare, and was named one of the Top 50 Innovators in 2020 by the World Summit AI community.
Natasha holds an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from University of Toronto, and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School.
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39. Nina Lynch
Managing Director, Accenture
Nina Lynch is a Managing Director at Accenture focused on digital customer experience innovation with over 20 years of experience in the space. Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A Fortune Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accenture's current clients include 91 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500. As of 2022, Accenture is considered the largest consulting firm in the world by number of employees.
Nina works with C-Suite leaders of Global 500 companies to create comprehensive digital strategies and transformation, launch innovative new products, and reimagine their customer's experience. Her work largely focuses on developing strategies for and leading large-scale digital transformation initiatives. Her industry experience includes Life Sciences, Technology, Media, Communications, Automotive, CPG, and Publishing. She holds a BS, cum laude, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Babson College.
40. Farrah Andersen
Principal, The Cadmus Group
Farrah Andersen is a Principal at The Cadmus Group, a strategic and technical consultancy, where she leads the Sustainability and Energy team. She directs projects on behalf of government, nonprofit, and business clients to address climate change and social inequity, including renewable energy, climate mitigation, and resilience. As a trained facilitator and certified mediator, Ms. Andersen brings these skills to all her client engagements. She also has expertise in sustainable finance and social equity.
Previously, Andersen served as Chief of Staff for Corporate Social Responsibility at Bank of the West, BNP Paribas. Andersen holds a Master in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a BA from the University of California Berkeley in Political Economy.
41. Claudia Thompson
Managing Director of Risk Management & Quality, Accenture
Claudia Thompson is the Managing Director of Risk Management & Quality at Accenture. She is an action-oriented leader of Risk Management & Quality across Accenture Canada. With more than 33 years of consulting experience, she is actively driving quality programs across all Accenture client services and industries while monitoring and managing the risk profile for the Canadian business as a member of Accenture’s Canadian Executive Committee. She brings her experiences from leading some of Accenture Canada’s most complex client engagements.
Outside of Accenture, Claudia is a passionate advocate for a workplace culture that values diversity and inclusion because she believes it’s a growth imperative. She is an active member of the International Women’s Forum, Women United, and a Founding Visionary of the Prosperity Project. Claudia is an active Board Director for Christie Gardens, empowering elders to live well, and representing the ICT industry on the TechNation Executive Committee. She is also an alumni of the C.D. Howe Institute, Human Capital Policy Council.
43. Dr. De'Andrea Matthews
VP of Diversity and Community Engagement, Detroit Zoological Society
An international speaker and award-winning author, Dr. De’Andrea Matthews is a National Diversity Council Certified Diversity Professional, which she uses to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility locally, regionally, and around the globe. She is the Vice President of Diversity and Community Engagement for the Detroit Zoological Society.
Dr. Matthews is one of the 2022 Michigan Chronicle Women of Excellence, the recipient of the 2021 Top 100 Leaders in Education award from the Global Forum for Education & Learning, the 2020 Better Business Bureau Torch Awards for Ethics, and the 2020 Corp! Magazine Diversity Business Leader award. She is a member of the National Diversity Council, Association of Zoos and Aquariums Diversity Committee, and a board member of the Association of Midwest Museums.
Dr. Matthews' areas of expertise include diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in both the education and nonprofit industries for over 25 years. She is committed to breaking down barriers and building bridges to create opportunities for others to grow and thrive. Dr. Matthews is a lifelong learner who enjoys reading and traveling the world.
44. Lindsay Massengill
Managing Director, Accenture
Lindsay Massengill is a Managing Director at Accenture specializing in supply chain management, procurement, and business process services with nearly 20 years of experience. She serves as account leader for select energy clients where she partners with client leadership to identify and achieve transformational goals. With her prior experience working in a variety of roles for BP, she brings a deep working knowledge of the oil and gas industry with a key focus on driving business impact. She is known for her collaborative, values-based leadership style, bringing diverse global teams together to drive connected value from strategy through execution. Passionate about the industry, Lindsay brings curiosity and collaboration to her teams and is an early adopter of new trends in technology such as generative AI.
As the co-lead of Accenture’s Houston mental wellness employee resource group and a mental health ally at Accenture, she advocates for mental wellness at work, in the community, and at home. Most recently she launched an Accenture podcast, The MindHub, where she is joined by co-hosts to tackle a variety of mental health topics and practices.
Lindsay has her MBA from Arizona State University and an undergraduate degree with a dual specialization in supply chain management and operations management from Bowling Green State University. She is a proud mom to two kids, enjoys hiking with her husband, and loves to make jewelry in her free time.
45. Umran Beba
Partner, August Leadership
Umran Beba is an experienced senior business executive with a general management, talent, diversity, and consulting background. She has been a partner at August Leadership since June 2020 and leads diversity practice, as well as conducts executive search and leadership advisory projects. Before August Leadership, she had 35 years of experience in the consumer goods industry where 25 years was with PepsiCo in four different locations namely Istanbul, Hong Kong, Dubai, and New York. She was the Asia Pacific president of PepsiCo, following president and general management roles in Southeast Europe, East Mediterranean/Middle East, and Turkey. She has been in chief HR officer and chief diversity officer roles in her career.
She joined the Bakkavor Group PLC Board of Directors as an independent non-executive board director in September 2020. She also has been an independent non-executive board director for five years with the Japan Calbee Snacks public company in Tokyo and is currently on the board of the International Youth Foundation as a co-vice chair of the board. She has been a trustee of the Purchase College Foundation board and has a board of overseers role at Columbia University School of Professional Studies.
She is a native of Turkey and earned her MBA and Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Bogaziçi University in Istanbul. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with her family.
46. Pam Lopez
Managing Partner, Customer Focused Strategies
Pam Lopez is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Customer Focused Strategies (CFS), an Atlanta-based, women-owned management consulting and business solutions firm founded in 1999. Pam is an award-winning consultant and accomplished industry veteran whose cross-functional career transverses several sectors, including Telecom, Technology, Utilities, Cable, Manufacturing, and Transportation & Logistics. It was this experience that propelled Pam to envision and realize a more comprehensive consulting approach, one that is distinctly customer-centric.
An exceptional solutionist, Pam’s ability to get to the heart of each challenge and unlock innovative solutions is a distinctive force in her approach to solving complex business challenges. Having held senior leadership roles in business strategy, direct and indirect sales, marketing, and customer service, Pam delivers a uniquely comprehensive perspective to the consulting projects she leads. Regardless of the area in which a challenge is rooted, Pam works with her team to bring solutions that consider all aspects of the organization. Her work spans everything from innovative product development, customer-centric service programs, impactful go-to-market solutions, and highly customized, learner-centric training programs.
Prior to co-founding CFS in 1999, Pam held cross-functional leadership roles at the Xerox Corporation, Contel Cellular, and GTE Mobilnet. She is a highly active partner at CFS, known for her ability to gain an intimate understanding of her client’s businesses, and the unique way she drives partnerships with the customer to achieve results. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.
47. Rebecca Chalson
CEO, Create Your Potential LLC.
Rebecca Chalson, CEO of Create Your Potential LLC, is a trailblazing business development consultant with over a decade of experience. Not only does she lead her team in offering digital marketing services, but she also conducts group training workshops and one-on-one coaching regarding effective networking and marketing strategies. Harnessing her experience in corporate leadership and sales training, Rebecca teaches the transformative impact of personal branding on professional growth. Her inspiring journey, chronicled in her bestselling co-authored book Women Who Rise, reveals how she turned obstacles into opportunities by leveraging her unique strengths and fostering meaningful connections.
Rebecca's effective approach to forming professional relationships has earned her the reputation of a 'community connector' in networking circles. She has been recognized on the prestigious 40 Under 40 list, and acknowledged in Forbes for teaching effective networking strategies in the digital age. As a sought-after public speaker, she regularly shares her expertise at colleges, conferences, and virtual events. Rebecca’s Speak Up & Stand Out™ training program is especially popular, which empowers professionals to enhance their influence and generate additional income through public speaking. In 2023, she launched the website FindMyGuestSpeaker.com, a platform dedicated to helping coaches, authors, and industry experts strengthen their brand presence and expand their impact as sought-after speakers nationwide.
Rebecca's life philosophy revolves around the belief that our only limitations are the ones we impose on ourselves. She champions the idea that we have the power to create our own potential. To learn more about Rebecca's consulting services, her website is CreateYourPotential.com.