West Monroe Appoints Smith Alumnus As New President

What does a day in your role look like? What are your current responsibilities on any given day and how do you approach new projects?

As President of West Monroe, a 2,000-person global business and technology consulting firm, my days are varied and dynamic. I oversee all client-facing aspects of our business, including all industry, functional and technology consulting lines, client success, market growth, strategy, revenue, and marketing. I spend a lot of time engaging with our clients’ executives, discussing market trends, and understanding their challenges to ensure that West Monroe creates exceptional value. I also work with other leaders within West Monroe on major strategic initiatives such as exploring potential acquisition targets, reviewing performance across our business units, and managing financials with our CFO, a fellow Smith School graduate. People are a big part of my role. I collaborate closely with our Chief People Officer and talent management teams. Traveling to our offices—across the U.S. and abroad—is also key. I visit at least once a month to stay connected with our teams. After all, our people are our most important asset. Additionally, I am a director on West Monroe’s Board of Directors and chair our valuation committee. Being part of a private equity-backed employee-owned firm adds a unique dimension to my role. It’s an exciting position that keeps me engaged and motivated every day.

Is there something about your professional journey that people would find surprising? 

What might surprise people about my professional journey is the shift from working at massive organizations to starting as employee number one in West Monroe’s New York office. My career began at KPMG in Los Angeles, one of the Big 4 accounting firms, as an auditor. After completing business school in France, I joined Kearny in New York. I then left consulting and moved to MBNA (now Bank of America), where I delved into strategy and transformation, followed by another large global consultancy, BearingPoint in both New York, and London. These opportunities provided me with the quintessential corporate America experience. After these roles, I wanted to pursue something that satisfied my entrepreneurial spirit. I deliberately joined West Monroe when it was still a small company with fewer than 150 people back in 2010. My role was to establish our East Coast presence from the ground up, and it was essentially just me with a business card and a mission to make things happen. Fast forward nearly fifteen years later, I’ve held various leadership positions. With the support of an exceptional leadership team and the next generation of leaders throughout the firm, we’ve grown the firm fourteen-fold. Transitioning from large institutions to growing something new and impactful has been the most fulfilling, fun, and exciting part of my career.

Tell us about your path from graduation to your current job. 

I have been a leader at West Monroe for nearly 15 years and have spent almost three decades in consulting. I grew up in Israel, completed my three-year military service in the Israeli Navy, and moved to the United States for college at 22. I got my degree in business with an accounting concentration from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in three years and began my career in auditing at one of the Big Four. I knew I didn’t want to do auditing forever and I decided to get an MBA from INSEAD Business School in France, known for its international focus. Throughout business school, I was exposed to a variety of industries and career paths. Ultimately, consulting appealed to me because it offered variety —I was too curious and wanted to master how to solve challenges and help companies succeed. After spending 14 years at Kearney, MBNA (now Bank of America), and Bearing Point, both in the United States and in London, I joined West Monroe in September 2010 for the entrepreneurial opportunity. I have held various leadership positions at the firm, including heading global alliances, leading our firmwide Financial Services industry practice and overseeing the New York office and East Coast. Most recently, I served as Chief Operating Officer overseeing all consulting lines, laying the groundwork for my current role as president. Shortly after joining West Monroe, I also became a board member, to take part in the firm’s governance and strategic direction.

What Smith resources or relationships did you leverage for your career? 

After graduating with an accounting degree, I was fortunate to receive multiple job offers, including from the Big 4 accounting firms—though I think they were the Big 5 at that time. The strength of the Smith School in attracting top employers played a significant role in securing my position at KPMG and jumpstarting my career. More recently, we brought on a new CFO at West Monroe, Dan Freiman, who is also a Smith School alumnus. It was great to leverage that connection, and we enjoyed reminiscing about our shared experiences from our time there. These relationships and the network built through Smith have been valuable throughout my career.

How has your Smith education helped you with your professional career? Were there specific classes, experiential projects, team projects, or internships that have been especially helpful to you?

My Smith education helped shape my professional career. I still remember the impact of several standout professors. For example, a business law professor left a lasting impression and has been incredibly helpful throughout my career in management roles. The legal team here even jokes that I should have become a lawyer! Another significant influence was an economics professor who taught an advanced class on creating economic models to predict macroeconomic trends. This course was instrumental in deepening my understanding of the macroeconomic environment, which has been crucial in shaping our business strategies and adapting to economic changes. Overall, from accounting, to corporate finance, marketing, and organizational behavior, I absolutely felt prepared to explore all aspects that ultimately drive companies’ performance. I truly believe it helped me excel in my first job as auditor to go ‘beyond the numbers’.

Why did you decide to get a business degree and why did you choose the Robert H. Smith School of Business?

I decided to pursue a business degree because I grew up in a business-oriented family. My father, an entrepreneur who built his company from the ground up in Israel, inspired my interest in business. I had the desire to build and create, and business was the path forward. I majored in accounting, the language of business. When I started college at 22, after completing my service in the Israeli Navy, I was looking for a large school with a diverse student body and strong connections to the business community. The Robert H. Smith School of Business met these criteria perfectly. I wanted to be surrounded by a variety of backgrounds and experiences and to be located near a major city like Washington, D.C. Maryland’s excellent reputation and its strong ties to leading companies provided the ideal environment for a typical American college experience while having valuable networking opportunities.

What about your personal journey has led to your success?

While I was drawn to math and sciences from a young age, and those skills have been important, I believe that the real “secret sauce” for success lies in how you connect with and lead people. Being kind, building strong relationships, and fostering a sense of community are Crucial. My background in team sports, particularly European handball, has been especially influential. As a team captain, I learned that success isn't about individual achievement but about how well you can lead and motivate a team. This experience taught me the importance of collaboration and the idea that team success ultimately drives personal and professional growth. Whether in sports, the military, or any organization, understanding and supporting your team is key to achieving collective success and advancing in your career.

Is there anything else you would like to add that was not covered in the questions? 

I want to extend my gratitude to the Smith School for preparing me for lifelong learning and teaching me how to adapt to a fast-changing environment especially as technology continues to evolve. At West Monroe, we’re really diving into AI and helping our clients do the same to navigate and leverage these advancements to stay competitive in their markets. We are excited about embracing AI and encouraging our employees and recruits to do the same. It’s fascinating to think about how students graduating today are stepping into this transformative era. In fact, Maryland has a fantastic computer science program and really complements a Smith business education. Being skilled in both business and technology is incredibly valuable, and it’s something we champion at West Monroe.