The finalists for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards were announced March 25, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person May 11 at the The Ritz-Carlton in McLean, Virginia.
Next is CEO (Private Company, Annual Revenue >$1B) finalist Scott McIntyre, CEO of Guidehouse. Here, he talks key recent achievements, career turning points, career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2021/2022?
During the last year, we made substantial investments in growing our digital, health care and defense businesses. We formed Guidehouse Digital and acquired Dovel Technologies, bringing their expertise to Guidehouse and targeted additional investments into digital talent, technology partnerships and solutions. This represents an important evolution in serving both government and commercial clients.
What has made you successful in your current role?
Any success I enjoy is facilitated by the strengths of our individual partners across all of Guidehouse. Their industry and domain expertise, client focus and passion for our clients’ missions sets us up for success every day. Our partners each lead individual businesses and they enable me to focus on our strategy, our culture and on cultivating leadership talent.
What was a turning point or inflection point in your career?
Unquestionably leading the buyout of Guidehouse from PwC almost four years ago. The transaction was fairly complex to begin with, but the very concept of a carveout was virtually anathema to the culture at the time.
Having the opportunity to bring our PwC Pubic Sector colleagues on this journey to form Guidehouse and then together taking on the challenge of building it into a $2.4 billion business with 12,000 people around the world was a huge career inflection point for all involved.
What are you most proud of having been a part of in your current organization?
I love the fact that our team established a new global brand and in just four years that has emerged among the largest consultancies in the world, enjoys really dedicated and talented people driving our success and is competitive with any established competitor.
We love being the upstart that stands shoulder to shoulder with professional service firms that have a hundred year or so head start on us.
What’s one key thing you learned from a failure you had?
I’m getting to the point in my career where if there is a mistake to be made, I’ve likely made it. But I’ve learned that we gain some of the best lessons from our failures.
Much of my approach to strategy, investment, risk management and culture come from mistakes I’ve made. So one key thing I’ve learned is how to embrace learning from failure rather than burying my mistakes.
Which rules do you think you should break more as a government/industry leader?
Any rule that interferes with demonstrating or reinforcing your core competencies should be a candidate for elimination. If you fortify your strategy with real core competencies, then any bureaucratic rules or institutional norms that prevent optimizing them should be looked at.
What’s the biggest professional risk you’ve ever taken?
Leading the buyout of PwC’s Public Sector business almost four years ago was not only my biggest professional risk but the biggest risk most of our leaders have ever taken. That carveout established Guidehouse as a $625 million federal contractor in 2018 with ambitions to become a globally recognized brand, rapidly diversify into digital enablement and commercial industries adjacent to our government businesses and make our startup a multibillion-dollar, fast-growing company.
We thought this would take a decade, but we accomplished all those goals within 36 months. We lost a lot of sleep and made a bunch of mistakes along the way, but I’m so proud of each of our leaders and what they accomplished together that changed the landscape of management consulting. It was risky, but rewarding!
Looking back at your career, what are you most proud of?
Two things:
The first one is shared with many of our people and that’s building a brand that the industry recognizes in a short period of time. We’re proud of the brand, how quickly it’s become competitive and what it stands for.
Second, we built this business for rapid growth, but managed to achieve that growth without sacrificing balance sheet strength or the culture on which we founded the business.
It’s difficult to keep these three things in balance and that’s what I’m most proud of our leadership team for accomplishing.
What was your biggest career struggle and how did you overcome it?
I spent most of my career in the Big 4 ensconced in a globally recognized and well-established brand with all the accoutrements of a stable business with mature operations, culture, delivery network and client base. Stepping out of that machinery to take on the challenge of setting a new vision and strategy, building out all operations and technology (with no transaction service agreements with our former parent), establishing a global delivery network and expanding into new industries adjacent to our government work was initially a big struggle, but today, it’s incredibly rewarding for our team and value-adding for our clients.
My team and I have grown our capabilities and confidence together in creating such a competitive business and I speak for most of them when I say that the struggle formed a crucible that quickly made us better and stronger.
What’s your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Easy… don’t follow my footsteps and chart your own course. If you aspire to lead a business, then recognize there’s no single path to follow, but there are certain foundational elements of success.
Know that without hard work, genuinely caring for people, really committing to your clients and their missions, developing relevant skills, learning all you can and seeking constructive criticism, you’ll never get the shot. But if you’re conscientious, palpably dedicated to the business and building a reputation for delivering results, you’ll be well positioned to be a strong and successful business leader.