Effective January 1, 2015, Brian Paulen will step in as leader of West Monroe Partners’ Seattle office operations. Paulen, who joined the firm in January 2014, has brought tremendous operating experience and a strong set of local relationships to further propel the growth of the office. Brian is an established relationship builder, business developer, and people focused leader.
The firm’s shift in office leadership will allow its founder Tom Bolger, to focus time and energy on the firm’s strategic growth initiatives and accelerate the growth of existing offices and expansion of West Monroe’s geographic footprint. Bolger will remain in the Seattle office and continue to oversee the firm’s West Coast operations. The Seattle office, now in its 9th year, ended 2014 with more than 60 consultants.
“I’m thrilled that I have the opportunity to hand over the reins to one of the best leaders I’ve known,” said Tom Bolger, manager director of strategic growth. “I have no doubt that Brian is going to lead the office to new heights and believe that we have never been better positioned for growth and continued development.”
“I feel very privileged to have the amazing opportunity to lead our thriving team in Seattle,” shared Paulen. “We are experiencing growth, both in headcount and revenue, unlike any other time in our firm’s history. I’m very much looking forward to the challenge of continuing to build a unique culture and foundation that Tom Bolger established. I’m eager to elevate the firm’s momentum in the Seattle marketplace.”
Paulen joined West Monroe with its acquisition of Madrona Solutions Group, a Seattle-based consultancy he co-founded and ran as CEO in July 2005. The firm helped mid-market and enterprise-sized clients build customer relationship management solutions on the Dynamics CRM and Salesforce.com platforms. Under Paulen’s leadership, Madrona Solutions Group was a very successful CRM and Analytics business which grew to approximately 35 employees over seven years. The firm repeatedly was recognized as one of the fastest growing private companies in Washington and received various “Best Company to Work For” awards.
Moving forward, the Seattle office has plans to expand its team and capabilities into the next year and beyond. In 2015, the Seattle team is expecting to grow by more than 20 consultants and is focused on adding a Security and Compliance service line as well as Organizational Change Management services, both of which are existing overall firm focus areas. Additionally, to build on the firm’s national strength in the retail sector, under Paulen’s leadership the office will look to develop relationships with many of the Pacific Northwest’s successful retailers. Beyond 2015, the office is expected to continue its aggressive growth by offering other strategic, efficiency driving solutions to customers.