In July I bid (a virtual) goodbye to the team at Accenture.  I spent nearly two decades at Accenture, where (to paraphrase John Del Santo) ‘Insurance found me’ in my fourth week out of school.  I was introduced to the organization as a Junior in High School, while on a college visit - joining Accenture in Chicago quickly became my goal (as Kathy Wieland can attest in the hours she spent seeking to help me find a second choice I could get excited about).  I still vividly remember sneaking off to the restroom, during another interview, to listen to the voicemail from Brenda Hoffmeister informing me I had been selected to conduct my final interviews in Chicago.

The rest, as they say, is history…. A few highlights:

• Graduation on a Friday, final move to Chicago Over the weekend
• Orientation in the basement of 180 N LaSalle on Monday
• Local training on the 23rd floor of 161 - I still haven’t recovered from Cosi every day for lunch
• First trip to St. Charles for two weeks of Core Analyst School with my global start group
• Two years in Erie, PA
• First trip outside the USA - to Barcelona
• Four years in Des Moines/Columbus/Sacramento
• Weathering the Great Recession outside LA and in NJ
• Designing Forms Manager & Filing Manger on a whiteboard in NJ
• European Tour to promote Policy Components
• First trips to Boliver, MO, Tokyo, and Sydney
• That winter we spent in Madison
• Back to New Jersey - my first start-up insurance company client
• Helping craft the first suite SaaS sale - and working with the great team we pulled together in Boston
• A winter in Atlanta
• A winter and spring just outside of Milwaukee
• Back to Boston - another start-up Insurance company
• The Big Apple for my last fall and winter
• Remote work supporting local and LA clients
• A few photos

People have repeatedly asked why I joined Accenture and why I stayed for so long - and everyone got the same answer.  I joined first for the opportunities and second for the people I’d met along the process.  I stayed first for the people, and second for those opportunities.

From that first project - where drinking from the firehose didn’t begin to describe the learning curve required, through to promotion to Managing Director years later - I didn’t accomplish anything on my own - it was always a team - supervisors and mentors pulling me upward and countless teams pushing me forward.

Of course, the teams and I couldn’t have accomplished anything without our clients.  A huge thank you to all of you for your partnership and support along the way  - I learned more than I know from you as we put our heads together to Deliver High Performance.

I can’t begin to name the most impactful colleagues or clients as I’d embarrassingly leave way too many out.  Please know that each one of you is a critical part of leader I am today! Thank you.

With that I say Goodbye to my Accenture Adventure!  #BeGreaterThan