One on One With West Monroe's Marc Tanowitz

Business and technology consulting firm West Monroe recently acquired Washington, D.C.- based IT and business services transformation and outsourcing advisory firm Pace Harmon, the biggest acquisition for the firm in its 18-year history. Joining West Monroe from Pace Harmon is Managing Director, IT Strategy & BPO Marc Tanowitz, a 26-year veteran whose experience runs the gamut from consumer business, travel, life sciences, aerospace, and defense. He's also led a number of successful technology and business transformation projects across the globe. We caught up with Tanowitz to talk about his transition from Pace Harmon to West Monroe, clients' biggest ongoing IT & BPO challenges, and plans for growth of the practice.

Consulting: What in your background and career led to your new position as managing director at West Monroe?

Tanowitz: I started my career at Deloitte in the late 1990s and spent an enjoyable six-plus years there. When they decided not to separate their audit and consulting business it created an opportunity: Deloitte's outsourcing advisory services were very focused on the transactional piece and didn't often take the high-level strategic view and incorporate a perspective on the business objectives that needed to be solved. We knew we could create more value for enterprises by bringing deep IT and functional expertise along with a strategic sourcing competency. This approach provided the right content and structure to make the sourcing transactions successful—in a way that sets up companies for success, not surprises. I never thought I'd leave Deloitte, but instead did just that in 2003 when I helped start Pace Harmon. We grew to a 75-plus person firm and in November 2020, West Monroe acquired us. Now I lead the consulting areas that are new to West Monroe including IT and business process strategy, transformation, and outsourcing.