Oliver Wyman and BCG consultants named LGBTQ+ leaders
International diversity & inclusion organisation INvolve has released its latest list of global LGBTQ+ leaders, with leaders from Oliver Wyman and Boston Consulting Group among those recognised.
Sydney-based Oliver Wyman consultant David Connah has been recognised as an emerging LGBTQ+ leader by INvolve, with Connah joining a number of colleagues to have received 2023 accolades.
Following in the footsteps of KPMG’s Paul Henderson last year, Connah is one of 100 business professionals from around the world named to the recent OUTstanding Future Role Model list – which this year celebrated its one-decade anniversary. Connah joined Oliver Wyman in early 2022 after spending 18 months at KPMG, having initially gotten a taste for the consulting industry through an internship at Ernst & Young.
Since joining the management consultancy, Connah has been active in driving Oliver Wyman’s already award-winning LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts as a leader of the ‘PrOWd’ employee network, noted for championing initiatives such as a global mentoring program and raising awareness of the contributions of Brotherboys and Sistergirls to Australia’s LGBTQ+ history. Connah says the aim is to inspire other young people to own their queer identity.
“From a young age I realised my ‘identity’ was integral to me,” Connah said on receiving the accolade. “Accepting and understanding myself took time, and leaving the comfort of known structures was daunting, yet it provided the space I needed for self-discovery. Today, I strive to show that being LGBTQ+ has many faces and that young people should feel the courage and freedom needed to define their own version of being queer.”
In addition to its LGBTQ+ advocacy, INvolve also promotes gender and racial inclusion, with several of Connah’s colleagues also featuring on this year’s corresponding lists. Promoted to partner at the beginning of the year, Rama Gollakota was named as an Empower Role Model for driving inclusion for people of colour, while Sydney-based partnership colleague Julian Granger-Bevan and Catherine Bock of the firm’s Perth office made the HERoes list as an advocate and future leader.
Meanwhile, Boston Consulting Group’s Asia Pacific regional chair Neeraj Aggarwal was selected in the top spot among 50 global OUTstanding LGBTQ+ executive allies. Appointed to his current role in 2018, Aggarwal was noted for consistently supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion and making it a key priority for BCG in the region, with the strategy consultancy last year awarded as Australia’s leading professional services LGBTQ+ employer.
Taking to LinkedIn, Aggarwal said he hoped the recognition would inspire both himself and others to do more; “This has only furthered my commitment to building an inclusive workspace, which I believe should be the priority of every leader. Many years ago I was asked about the kind of team I aspired to build, and I remember what I said back then – a team where each individual can be their true self. If you want to serve the world, your teams need to look like it.”
