16: The Future of Management Consultancy: Irene Molodstov, CEO SIA Partners

Sign up to our newsletter for more in-depth insights | Follow us on LinkedIn

Today’s guest is a Russian-born, Australian-educated management consultant working at the epicentre of the data-driven revolution which is shaking the established corporate and investment orders.

Our guests on this show manage businesses and money, and they need to understand where their industry is moving, its likely trajectory and the skills that will be required. In essence, how they should adapt, for as John F Kennedy observed “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”

So in this episode, we discuss the evolving world of management consultancy and how their advice to companies is shifting. The discussion begins with Irene’s escape from Russia, her upbringing in Australia and first employment at Pilkington Glass before moving to consultancy, initially at KPMG, then starting her own firm Molten before selling it to SIA partners.

SIA partners today consults with 100 of the Global Fortune 500, specialising in the areas of AI, and data-led consulting, known as Consulting 4.0. Irene talks about changing business practices, the essential need for data to inform and improve decision making, from developing models to advise hotels on Airbnb pricing, to helping the French Alpine meteorological service improve predictions of avalanche dangers. She talks about communication in a zoom-altered world, the office of the future and debates whether younger employees can attain “equity” in their working relationships if done remotely.

Finally Irene reflects on the resilience she acquired along the way, the qualities she looks for in hires, how firms can retain female employees more effectively and shares some lessons and advice from running her own business.