New managing partner Meredith Carson talks about Golden Equator Consulting

Now heading up a team of strategists, analysts and creators, Golden Equator Consulting’s new managing partner Meredith Carson speaks with Consultancy.asia.

Recently, Singapore-based advisory Golden Equator Consulting appointed digital transformation, communications and marketing professional Meredith Carson as its new managing partner. Carson talks to Consultancy.asia about her motivations for joining Golden Equator, what the firm has been up to and its plans for the future, as well as business in a time of coronavirus.

What motivated you to join Golden Equator Group to head up its consulting division?

Golden Equator’s striking in the way it reimagines the business landscape, by forging business ecosystems which create value and lasting impact. As a collaborative and somewhat unconventional professional myself, I find the Group’s approach fresh and inspiring; there’s certainly a shared vision.

What began as a conversation around joining SPECTRUM, Golden Equator’s amazing business community and shared workspace, quickly became a conversation about joining forces to inspire and facilitate a brilliant future together.

What are your plans for Golden Equator Consulting? Both in Singapore and the new office in Brunei?

Across Singapore, Brunei and the UAE, we’re focused on helping organisations envision, develop and implement agile, digital-first strategies which harmonise the organisation’s business goals with the customer and audience needs. It sounds straightforward enough, however frequently there’s a profound cultural and operational shift required in terms of the approach and breaking down across traditional silos, which are areas we take into consideration and work with our clients to address. From the C-suite to the functional teams, we’re focused on guiding stakeholders through their journey of business evolution, together.

Oftentimes, this requires a design-thinking approach and a growth hacker mindset, with a firm grasp of the requisite analytical, strategic and creative skillsets, which is also what we bring to the table. In doing so, when coupled with unified measurement frameworks, we ensure that even the most aspirational strategies are and can be also pragmatic. This is where the team’s digital skills as well as bootcamp and workshop capabilities have really come to the fore, which has been a key area of focus in Brunei for instance.

What’s Golden Equator Consulting’s most interesting project at present?

There are a number of interesting projects underway. One which encapsulates our offering is a digital transformation project within the maritime services industry, where a large company needed to drive efficiencies and future-proof the business. Previously business transactions were being conducted through very traditional and non-connected means. It was cumbersome and laborious yet the teams did not have the human or tech know-how in place.

We’ve been supporting their journey to integrate digital-focused efficiencies through an holistic approach, encompassing development of business use-cases and blueprints; workshops to upskill the team, facilitating knowledge discovery and to understand their needs, expectations and requirements; the development of scope, strategy and product roadmaps; supporting the HR department in structuring and identifying the tech team; and finally, mentoring the team for 12 months to see that the product is delivered on-time and on-budget and to ensure the knowledge and skillsets are effectively implemented.

Of course it has to be asked: your thoughts on COVID-19 driving digital transformation? 

Well, I’m sure you’ve seen the funny-but-true joke circulating on the internet about COVID-19 being a bigger driver of digital transformation rather than the CEO, CTO, or CMO. It’s a human truth that sometimes problems or gaps need to feel relatable in order for the issue to be appreciated and addressed.

We’re also natural-born optimists, which is also very much reflected in corporate culture. We plan for growth, we have stretch targets, we discuss wins. Is it any wonder then that too often organisations shy away from tough conversations, such as Business Continuity Planning (BCP) as it relates to issues and crises management?

COVID-19 highlights the need for BCP; the fact is that time spent planning in “peace time” is critical time saved in “war time”, where every minute counts and confusion reigns for those under-prepared. In this age of disruption, planning for potential and known risks is a responsible business practice, enabling a resilient and confident culture.