What did you do prior to The Parthenon Group?

Between Duke and Wharton I played tennis professionally on the Women's Tennis Tour for about 4 years. I competed throughout the globe 35 weeks a year and was fortunate enough to be able to play each year in the Grand Slams, as well as to play for Canada in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Why did you select The Parthenon Group?

I chose Parthenon for a number of reasons. I found the people to be much like my peers at Duke: extremely bright, but also very well-rounded and kind. They seemed to genuinely like the firm and each other (a perception that has proved to be true).

I liked Parthenon’s two-case model. I felt that it would put me in a position where I could learn the most the fastest about a variety of industries as well as a variety of problems. I liked the fact that not all Parthenon teams spend four days a week with their clients. I've spent much of my life traveling for tennis; I no longer wanted to be living in a hotel room. I like the concept of going to the client when we needed to meet with them, but being able to do much of our analysis from the office.

Also, I did not want to work somewhere where I was just a cog in a very large machine - I didn't just want to be a number. I wanted to work somewhere where each individual felt like they were a part of the firm's success. I've found this to be true of Parthenon. We all work on our cases, but also we each have responsibilities outside of those where we contribute to the firm. Responsibilities range from being on the recruiting team for one of our undergrad or MBA target schools, to overseeing training programs, to planning our annual company meeting. I believe we all feel like we are a part of this firm's success.

What stands out about the type of work you are engaged in at The Parthenon Group?

In my two years here, I've done work in a lot of different areas: helping firms with their growth strategy or pricing strategy, advising them (based on regression analysis) on how they can improve the marketing effectiveness of their ad spend, working with task forces on the merger and integration of two companies , the list goes on. I've worked on projects for firms in a variety of industries including beer, mutual funds, media, textbooks, and fast food.

What can you tell us about the people and culture at The Parthenon Group?

Parthenon's motto is "Smart, Nice, Driven." I heard it throughout the recruiting process and it seemed to fit with those I met. Having been with the firm for four years I've found it to be true. It's a really impressive group of smart, hard-working, well-rounded people.

Do you have any interests or hobbies outside of work?

I love to compete, so I still play tennis. I also took up marathon running because I wanted a different challenge. I was recently elected to the Women's Tennis Association's (WTA) Board of Directors as a Player Representative. It's an interesting new challenge that enables me to apply what I've learned at Parthenon to an industry that I know well. It is a significant time commitment, but the firm (specifically Bill Achtmeyer and the Partnership) have been very supportive. I'm not sure that I could find too many places that would have allowed me to pursue this opportunity.