Strategy Consultant Career Q&A with Hudson
How long have you been with Clarkston?
I have been with Clarkston for a total of 7 years, with a 2-year hiatus (making me a proud member of the “Grass is Browner Club”). I finished my undergraduate in engineering and joined in the summer of 2013 as part of the Associate Bootcamp Program.
What is your role at Clarkston?
In addition to serving as a strategy consultant, I serve as the lead of Clarkston’s Strategy and Innovation practice. My role has evolved over time – early in my career I was involved more closely with Trade Promotion Management and Sales & Marketing services for our clients. But I’ve learned that helping our clients navigate determine and implement strategies for business transformation is a passion of mine, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to practice this with our team as a strategy consultant.
Tell us about a new skill you’ve developed recently.
Digital Marketing has been a new endeavor for me. On a recent client project, I was helping a client better engage consumers via email marketing – understanding what consumers wanted emails, what content was most engaging, what types of coupons or value adds were most preferred. As a recipient of numerous brand emails I see this type of content on a day-to-day basis, but it is always fascinating to see the behind the scenes view.
If you had to choose, which of Clarkston’s core values do you feel resonates with you the most?
I don’t think I would have said this earlier in my career, but the one I appreciate the most right now is “Initiative – Proactively seeking out opportunities to positively impact the individual, firm, and client.” Early in my career, I was more reactive to what managers and leaders were asking of me, but over the past few years, I’ve realized the impact I can have within Clarkston and on the client site when I take initiative. I think this also speaks to the openness toward receiving feedback and input within Clarkston’s culture.
How has your work changed post-COVID?
The work-from-home lifestyle has changed my work drastically. I miss seeing my fellow Clarkston stewards and clients as often as before COVID, but not traveling has allowed me to spend much more time with my two daughters.
What advice would you give to someone starting at Clarkston?
Get involved in as many things as you can. One of the great things about Clarkston is that you have so much autonomy and control over your career path. Try things out to see what you love. I referenced “Initiative” as being the core value that resonated the most, and I think this really speaks to the road I’ve traveled in taking initiative over my own career path.
Tell us about a memorable experience you’ve had working with a client.
There are a ton of memories of challenging problems we’ve helped a client solve, or breakthrough moments on a project, but if I’m being completely honest, my most memorable experience was traveling to London for a client project. I’ve traveled internationally for other projects, but this week the whole project team (Clarkston and client) came to London. We worked during the July days in the unair-conditioned office, then went sightseeing each evening as a team. Great meals, Cirque du Soleil and a great team building experience.
Learn how you can become a strategy consultant at Clarkston here.