Consulting® APRIL 2020 23
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Jenny Koehler says she fell into consulting completely by accident. She calls her- self a “recovering auditor”
who left the Audit side of PwC’s
business in order to join the more
creative side of consulting. “I was
interested in implementing the full
breadth of solutions and driving out-
comes which meant, by necessity,
getting my hands dirty with technol-
ogy,” she says. “Over time, I have
completely come to appreciate the
impact that technology, correctly ap-
plied, can have on a business, and in
changing a workforce.”
Today, Koehler is a Partner, as
well as an Advisory Industrial Prod-
ucts and Services Vertical Leader at
PwC. “I relish the opportunity each
and every day to make a difference,
for both my clients, as well as team
members. The fact that I get to do
so in such exciting, and necessary,
industries—such as utilities—is
a bonus, too,” she says. “There is
nothing quite like the feeling of
watching the nature of someone’s
job change, or in crafting a com-
pletely different way of working—
one that you know will be lasting
far after you leave.”
In addition to the client circum-
stances that she has been part of
changing, she says her greatest
achievements have been rooted in
growing parts of the business. “Not
only is that evidenced in the quanti-
tative aspects of measuring a P&L,
but more personally, in the number
of new PwC Partners that I have had
the privilege of shaping and making
in my career,” Koehler says.
Over the next 12 months or so,Koehler says she is most excitedto see how emerging digital trendsand technologies will transform thebusiness landscape. “There is suchpotential, and I believe that organizations that focus their digital investments in their core capabilities,and align them to strategic imperatives, will bear the fruits most meaningfully,” she says.
Koehler says she has learned the
value of surrounding herself with
team members that are way more
talented than she is and in develop-
ing skills to harness the power of a
collective team. “All of this proba-
bly stems from the fact that I played
sports competitively all the way
through college, and appreciate the
power of a well-functioning team, as
compared to a single talented play-
er,” Koehler says. “As a leader, I
continually come back to these prin-
ciples and strive to get this right as
often as I can.”
As far as being named one of the
Women Leaders in Consulting, Koe-
hler says she is not entirely comfort-
able being the point of the conver-
sation, and instead would prefer to
focus on what the award means for
women leaders, as a whole.
“While I intellectually understand why awards such as this arenecessary in furthering the discourse about women in businessleadership, I long for a time when awoman occupying a senior leadership position in business is not theheadline,” she says. “When we getto that point, we will have achievedgender parity.”
JENNYKOEHLER
PWCEXCELLENCE INLEADERSHIP
Have you experienced unique challenges being a woman consultant in the tech-
nology field?
KOEHLER: “I prefer to view the fact that I am a woman, both in business, as
well as in the technology field, as an asset. Being a woman, and one that has
navigated the business world as I have, affords me a unique perspective and
voice in the conversation. So rather than focusing on the unique challenges, I
prefer to reframe around the opportunities that it has afforded me.” Q & A