West Monroe Adds Two Directors in Chicago

West Monroe Partners, a full-service North American business and technology consultancy, today announced that Anthony Chambers and Richard Powers have joined the firm’s Chicago office as directors in the Life Sciences and Operations Excellence practices, respectively. Both executives bring extensive experience with innovative, technology-enabled business solutions that deliver strategic insight and advance global business goals.

“Our growth is fueling a continuous need for new leadership level talent and consultants with proven track records for driving business success through applications of technology,” said Doug Armstrong, managing director and Chicago office leader. “Anthony Chambers and Rick Powers both bring that unique blend of business and technology experience that is proving so vital for navigating the complex transformation facing today’s organizations.”

Chambers adds extensive consulting experience with research and development IT and laboratory information systems, as well as large global transformation programs, IT strategy, and portfolio alignment projects. Prior to joining West Monroe Partners, he worked at Maven Wave Partners and Diamond Management and Technology Consultants, where he led large electronic laboratory notebook projects, data warehousing and business intelligence efforts, and program management projects. He joins West Monroe’s fast growing Life Sciences practices and will help advance its capabilities for supporting pharmaceutical/life science research and development and laboratory functions.

“A variety of factors, from the active transaction environment to the influx of big data, have added to the complexity of maintaining an IT environment capable of supporting the industry’s evolving research and development needs and producing the deep insight necessary for successful product development,” said Chambers. “West Monroe Partners understands pharma and regulated data and has created approaches that are both practical and driving real results and value for clients. I am excited to start a new challenge with West Monroe and look forward to working with the team to further develop its already extensive group of clients.”

Powers joins West Monroe Partners from NTT DATA, Inc., for which he was a vice president and national practice area lead for Infor Lawson and Microsoft Dynamics solutions. During nearly two decades with NTT DATA, he led teams of consultants regionally and across the United States, and he worked directly with ERP clients in numerous industries and managed many implementations and upgrades covering a range of functional areas. His previous experience includes management and consulting roles with Transition Systems, Inc., and Medical Information Technologies, Inc. (MEDITECH). His primary focus will be implementing ERP solutions that enable informed business decisions and help clients advance their business strategies.

“Choosing the right enterprise applications for a business’s needs is important, but technology is just one ingredient in sustainable transformation. In my experience, a successful ERP initiative depends on deep business and technical acumen,” said Powers. “West Monroe Partners applies the lenses of people, processes, and technology to optimize operating environments—and that shows in the results we are delivering for our clients.”