MBA Consulting Club Hosts Annual Forum

Over 100 professional consultants, students, and alumni gathered at Van Munching Hall in mid-November for the 2011 Consulting Forum, hosted by the MBA Consulting Clubat the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Lemuel Lasher, Chief Innovation Officer & President of GBS at CSC, gave the keynote address and discussed the organizational tension between mitigating risk and enabling innovation. Lasher discussed his personal experience creating an innovative environment at CSC and the role of business research literature in informing his process. According to Consulting Club Co-President Darshan Mody, MBA candidate 2012, the forum has always had a tradition of being focused on thought leadership. “He gave several of us a new paradigm for thinking about innovation and the importance of not losing sight of the important (business horizon) in pursuit of the urgent (current business challenges),” Mody said.

Lasher’s keynote was followed by three panels, moderated by Smith professors, populated by consultants from Alvarez & Marsal, Cognizant, CSC, Deloitte, First Annapolis, Gallup, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The panels served to inform students about timely issues such as consulting in a period of economic change or the challenges of public sector consulting amidst the threat of federal cutbacks. At the same time, consultants also provided their personal insight into the professional lifestyle.

Several of the panelists were Smith alumni who returned to share their professional experience with current Smith classes. Many return not only to share their experiences but also to mentor Smith students in navigating the internship and job search, especially through mock interviews, informational interviews, and referrals. The evening was topped off with networking, food, and drinks in the main atrium of Van Munching Hall.

Stephen Huie, MBA Candidate 2012, Smith Media Group