2006 Women to Watch: Kathryn Hayley
Aon Consulting U.S. Reprints
Chief Executive Officer
Aon Consulting U.S.
Chicago
Age: 48
After spending 21 years working with Deloitte Consulting in a variety of positions in the United States and abroad, Kathryn Hayley stepped into the top role at Aon Consulting U.S. this past June. Among her responsibilities, Ms. Hayley has been charged with leading efforts for enhancing the organization’s service delivery models, among other responsibilities. In addition, she serves on the board of directors for Gateway Foundation, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the Civic Consulting Alliance.
Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?
A: "In human capital, we look at issues as benefit issues and retirement plan issues and tend to think more tactically than we should…we are dealing with the two biggest issues that are shaping the U.S. economy, and we need to think bigger and more creatively about ways to deal with these broad issues."
Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?
A: "To build expertise, build a reason for the phone to ring. Be known for something, and be known for being the best at something. Especially for women, there are a lot of ‘shoulds’ and ‘expectations,’ and we have to be careful to cull through those to determine which ones work for us, and which ones we want to heed and which ones we want to ignore."
Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?
A: "On the personal side, it’s been my family and the way they’ve instilled values in me, and my husband, who’s been incredibly supportive and flexible. On the professional side, I’ve had numerous mentors over the years—some who may not even know it—whom I’ve sought advice from and tried to emulate."
Read Next
-
Leaders, innovators are selected as 'Women to Watch'
Business Insurance's report on "Women to Watch" is our attempt to identify some of the women who are leading change in commercial insurance, risk management, employee benefits and related fields.
