Jodi Bednar
West Monroe Partners
Excellence in Leadership
Jodi Bednar is a Director in West Monroe Partners’ En- ergy&Utilitiespracticebased
in Chicago. Bednar leverages her
nearly 30 years of business and telecommunications experience to help
utility clients navigate grid modernization, execute business transformations and develop strategies
for the successful operations of their
digital grids.
“I cannot say there is one pinnacle
moment or achievement in my career
that stands out above the rest, Bednar
says. “Rather, there have been many
little wins that amass into a great ca-
reer—a collection of moments and
milestones that have connected me
with amazing people, broadened my
knowledge and perspectives, and al-
lowed me to travel to fun and excit-
ing places that I otherwise would have
never experienced.”
Bednar is now a seasoned executive
with a blend of business and technical
acumen that enables her to deliver value
for clients at any stage of transforma-
tion—from technology evaluation to
network planning and design to imple-
mentation to operations management
and ongoing network management. But
it almost didn’t happen.
“It was by fortune that I came into
consulting,” she says. “I was ready to
move on to my next career challenge
that leveraged my technical and busi-
ness acumen while leveraging my pas-
sion for leadership and people devel-
opment when I received a call from
someone with whom I had worked at
a previous company.” He asked me if
I would consider a role in consulting.
“It was a matter of timing; the
transformation that was underway in
electric utilities was nearly identi-
cal to the changes that I guided other
companies through in the telecommu-
nication industry in the early 1990s,”
she says. “I knew that I was well po-
sitioned to help our clients on that
transformation journey.”
Bednar says she enjoys working
with her utility clients and teams at
West Monroe, and says she is “a fixer”
by nature, so collaborating with a client
to solve complex business challenges
with technology gives her energy and
fulfilment. “I love working alongside
our teams, mentoring them and watch-
ing them grow professionally and per-
sonally,” she says.
In addition to serving utility clients,
Bednar also serves as the Director of
Mentorship on the Chicago Chapter of
the Women’s Energy Network.
“Someone once told me that I
should never run from something but
rather, run to something,” she says. “It
was at a time when I was contemplating a career change, and that advice
helped me view the new and existing
opportunities in a different light.”
What does winning
the Women Leaders in
Consulting award mean
to you
BEDNAR: “I am humbled and appreciative to be recognized as a woman
leader in client service. Of course, great client service is about the
team and not an individual, but I do put a lot of energy and effort
into delivering outstanding service to our clients and supporting our
delivery teams in doing the same. This recognition validates that I am
focusing on the right things to be effective as a leader in our industry.”
