Rising Stars Award Categories
Recognizes young professionals who architect and execute large-scale strategic initiatives or full-cycle transformation programs that deliver sustained business performance and measurable value.
- Impact: Led a strategy or transformation engagement with quantifiable outcomes (revenue growth, cost reduction, margin improvement).
- Scope: Managed cross-functional programs with executive sponsorship and multi-stakeholder alignment.
- Approach: Introduced innovative frameworks, roadmaps, or operating-model changes that accelerated adoption.
- Sustainability: Embedded governance and KPIs to sustain benefits post-engagement.
- Evidence: Provided before/after metrics, executive sponsor endorsement, and artifacts showing methodology.
Honors consultants who drive end-to-end technology and digital transformations—delivering platform migrations, systems modernizations, or architecture overhauls that generate measurable business value and user adoption.
- Impact: Delivered a technology program with documented ROI or productivity gains.
- Scope: Managed multi-phase implementations across platforms, integrations, or cloud migrations.
- Method: Employed agile, DevOps, human-centered design, or platform governance to accelerate delivery.
- Adoption: Drove user uptake through enablement, change management, and metrics.
- Evidence: Submitted implementation metrics, architecture diagrams, and client testimonial.
Spotlights consultants who convert data and AI into prescriptive insights and scalable solutions that materially advance strategic objectives while observing responsible practices.
- Impact: Delivered analytics or AI solutions with quantified business outcomes.
- Novelty: Demonstrated innovation in data strategy, model design, or deployment patterns.
- Scale: Scaled insights across functions or business units with production-grade pipelines.
- Responsible Practices: Incorporated data governance, interpretability, and monitoring.
- Evidence: Provided performance metrics, architecture or pipeline artifacts, and client validation.
Celebrates consultants who apply process redesign, Lean, Six Sigma, or automation to streamline operations, improve quality, and secure sustainable efficiency gains.
- Impact: Delivered process optimization with measurable efficiency, cycle-time, or quality improvements.
- Method: Applied data-driven root-cause analysis, control plans, and process mapping tools.
- Change: Built client capabilities through training, playbooks, or governance structures.
- Sustainability: Implemented metrics and ownership structures for continuous improvement.
- Evidence: Submitted before/after KPIs, process maps, and client confirmation.
Honors consultants who design and implement talent, leadership, and culture programs that increase engagement, performance, and organizational resilience.
- Impact: Delivered talent or culture initiatives producing measurable shifts in engagement, retention, promotion, or performance.
- Strategy: Crafted leadership development, succession, or organizational design aligned to business goals.
- Execution: Deployed workshops, coaching, calibrated talent processes, or change campaigns with measurable uptake.
- Accountability: Built metrics, sponsor networks, and governance to sustain cultural change.
- Evidence: Provided survey results, retention/promotion data, and sponsor endorsements.
Celebrates consultants dedicating expertise to nonprofit, public-sector, or community initiatives and delivering measurable social value or capacity-building under constrained resources.
- Impact: Contributed measurable social outcomes (beneficiaries served, cost savings, service improvements).
- Commitment: Demonstrated significant pro bono hours or sustained engagement with underserved organizations.
- Design: Delivered solutions tailored to resource constraints with clear scalability or handoff plans.
- Capacity Building: Trained client teams or created tools for long-term impact.
- Evidence: Submitted impact metrics, client or beneficiary testimonials, and deliverable samples.
Honors consulting professionals who embed ESG and sustainability into strategy, operations, or investment decisions—delivering measurable environmental or social improvements and strengthened governance.
- Impact: Developed ESG strategies or programs that achieved quantifiable outcomes (emission reductions, social-value metrics, governance improvements).
- Scope: Integrated ESG across value chains, investments, or operations with stakeholder alignment.
- Method: Used materiality assessments, reporting frameworks, or sustainable product/service design.
- Governance: Established targets, tracking, and accountability mechanisms.
- Evidence: Provided baseline/endpoint metrics, frameworks used, and client validation.
Recognizes consultants who lead successful multi-jurisdictional engagements—navigating regulatory complexity, cultural differences, and distributed teams to deliver cohesive outcomes.
- Impact: Led projects spanning two or more countries with measurable client outcomes.
- Complexity: Mitigated regulatory, tax, or compliance challenges with tailored solutions.
- Coordination: Orchestrated virtual teams, local partners, and harmonized KPIs.
- Localization: Adapted methodologies and change plans to regional contexts.
- Evidence: Submitted project scope, governance model, and stakeholder feedback.
Honors professionals whose research, frameworks, publications, or public speaking meaningfully influence practice, client outcomes, or industry thinking.
- Reach: Published whitepapers, articles, or frameworks in recognized outlets or presented at major industry forums.
- Adoption: Demonstrated client or market adoption of the intellectual capital in engagements or products.
- Rigor: Produced evidence-based insights backed by data, case studies, or peer review.
- Amplification: Measured reach via downloads, citations, event attendance, or press.
- Evidence: Provided publications, links, adoption case studies, and impact metrics.
Honors professionals whose research, frameworks, publications, or public speaking meaningfully influence practice, client outcomes, or industry thinking.
- Impact: Delivered industry-focused projects with clear vertical outcomes (compliance readiness, product launch success, market entry).
- Domain Rigor: Demonstrated specialized knowledge in regulations, trends, and benchmarks.
- Reusable Assets: Built IP, toolkits, or playbooks that accelerate repeatable value for clients in the sector.
- Client Trust: Secured sector-specific testimonials or long-term engagements.
- Evidence: Submitted case studies, industry-specific artifacts, and client endorsements.
Recognizes professionals who design and deploy cybersecurity, privacy, and risk-technology solutions that materially reduce exposure while enabling secure digital transformation.
- Impact: Delivered security or risk-technology solutions with measurable risk reduction or resilience improvements.
- Scope: Implemented technical and organizational controls across identity, data protection, cloud security, or incident response.
- Innovation: Applied automation, secure-by-design patterns, or continuous monitoring to improve effectiveness.
- Sustainability: Established governance, playbooks, or upskilling programs for long-term ownership.
- Evidence: Provided metrics, runbooks/diagrams, and client testimonial.
Honors consultants who translate DEI commitments into measurable organizational change—driving representation, equity in advancement, and an inclusive culture that links to business outcomes.
- Impact: Delivered programs that improved representation, promotion rates, retention, pay equity, or inclusion scores.
- Strategy: Operationalized DEI strategy tied to measurable business objectives and accountability.
- Execution: Implemented training, process changes, hiring calibration, or sponsorship models with demonstrable uptake.
- Sustainability: Built data tracking, governance, and leader accountability to sustain progress.
- Evidence: Submitted quantitative results, program materials, and stakeholder confirmation.
Recognizes consultants who embed ethical guardrails into AI and data programs—ensuring transparency, fairness, privacy, and governance while delivering measurable business value.
- Impact: Delivered AI or analytics solutions that achieved outcomes with demonstrable fairness, explainability, or privacy protections.
- Governance: Implemented responsible-AI frameworks, model-risk controls, or cross-functional approval workflows.
- Technical Rigor: Used fairness testing, provenance tracking, monitoring, or privacy-preserving techniques as appropriate.
- Adoption: Drove education and decision processes so ethics are operationalized in delivery.
- Evidence: Provided technical artifacts, governance documentation, performance metrics, and client attestations.
Celebrates firms that design and execute high-impact recruiting and retention strategies that strengthen workforce quality, diversity, and longevity. Recognizes initiatives that go beyond hiring to build inclusive pipelines, reduce attrition, and foster long-term career growth.
- Strategy: Demonstrated alignment between recruiting goals and business needs, including DEI and future-skill priorities.
- Execution: Delivered programs that improved candidate experience, onboarding, and retention outcomes.
- Innovation: Introduced novel sourcing channels, employer branding, or predictive analytics to enhance hiring effectiveness.
- Impact: Achieved measurable improvements in offer acceptance, retention rates, or internal mobility.
Recognizes firms that cultivate a culture of development through structured mentoring, coaching, and enrichment initiatives that accelerate learning, leadership readiness, and engagement across all levels.
- Design: Built scalable mentoring frameworks with clear goals, matching protocols, and feedback loops.
- Participation: Achieved broad engagement across cohorts, geographies, and career stages.
- Outcomes: Demonstrated impact on promotion rates, skill development, or engagement scores.
- Innovation: Integrated enrichment elements such as peer learning, reverse mentoring, or digital enablement.