I have built consulting service lines from scratch, led go-to-market strategy and offering definition, managed sales and delivery, and overseen large-scale enterprise software implementations. Professional services is where product thinking meets commercial execution — and where I have done some of my most expansive and satisfying work.

At ZS Associates

After several years in ZS’s product organization, I made the case to build a User Experience capability in the consulting business. We started with two designers in India to prove demand — both were fully utilized from day one — and grew from there. Within a year we had demonstrated enough demand to build an onshore team as well.

Our early focus was delivering interface designs for third-party business intelligence solutions. Over time the breadth of our capabilities grew, and I created a simple offerings framework aligned with the product lifecycle to give client-facing teams a clear way to position our work.

As we promoted and hired more managers, we aligned to the company’s regional business development model — which made it easier to build trust, share success, and identify new opportunities.

The work that defined the later years of our consulting practice was Experience Transformation — a strategic offering grounded in design research and design thinking that helped clients understand how their customers and patients engaged with them. By 2022 it was our most popular offering, and it became the tip of the spear for teams across ZS. I launched it, grew average onshore deal size from $10K to $200K, and watched it open doors into work we hadn’t previously been invited to do.

In 2018 I wrote the business case for a full-stack engineering capability in consulting — Custom Development.

We started with six developers and grew to approximately 200, operating as a boutique consultancy with User Experience, Business Analysts, engineers, program managers, and scrum masters. We could imagine, design, and build almost anything a client might need.

At SAP

My first non-technical role at SAP was as a business analyst ensuring showcase-quality internal implementations of SAP products — a sales-enabling function and showcase implementation that supported sales cycles and contributed to license revenue growth.

I later served as Americas PMO for the migration of three legacy intranet systems into one internal portal, overseeing 20 lines of business and providing status updates to the Office of the CEO.

In a later global operations role I identified, evaluated, and launched a suite of internal social media solutions — micro-blogging, social networking, and video streaming — integrated with SSO and existing intranet properties. This was early enterprise community and knowledge management work, well before these capabilities were standard inside large organizations.

What This Means for Clients Today

I know what it takes to build a services business from scratch — the business case, the proof of concept, the go-to-market motion, the delivery model, and the operational infrastructure to scale it. I also know how to recognize signals of changing market and adapt for competitive advantage. If you are launching a new service line, trying to grow an existing one, or need to professionalize a consulting or professional services capability, I have done that work and can help you do it too.