1192: Building Through Disruption | Christina Spade, CFO, Catalant

Five weeks into her role as CFO of Catalant, Christina Spade is helping guide a company that she believes is positioned for a different era of consulting.

Catalant was founded out of Harvard Business School in 2013 and began as an independent consultant matchmaking company, Spade tells us. Today, she describes the firm as a “Consulting 2.0” business built around agile, fit-for-purpose consulting designed to help organizations solve problems and create value more quickly.

The company’s evolution mirrors broader changes in the consulting industry. Independent consultants were often viewed skeptically a decade ago, Spade tells us. But as organizations sought greater efficiency during and after COVID, many finance leaders began looking for more flexible ways to access expertise.

That shift helped Catalant move beyond matching individual consultants with projects. The company now works with Fortune 500 organizations, assembling teams of experts tailored to specific business challenges, Spade tells us. Technology and AI play an increasingly important role, helping match consultants to projects and supporting consultants as they execute client work.

Spade’s strategic mindset is reflected in one of her favorite quotes from golfer Sam Snead: “Only play against par.” Rather than focusing primarily on competitors, she believes organizations should concentrate on the business problems they are uniquely positioned to solve.

That same philosophy informs her view of consulting economics. While billable hours remain important, Spade tells us that clients increasingly prefer outcome-based engagements. Success, she argues, should be measured by whether a project achieves its intended objectives, whether that means improving efficiency, strengthening customer understanding, or developing an executable AI strategy.