Principal, Data & Analytics Transformation (Consulting)

• Principal, Data & Analytics Transformation
• The Hackett Group | Principal Level | United States

• Company Overview
• The Hackett Group® is a Gen AI strategic consulting and executive advisory firm that helps organizations achieve Digital World Class® performance. The firm combines proprietary benchmarking, best-practice and process intelligence with deep expertise in business transformation, advanced analytics, enterprise technology, and AI. Its professionals work with business and technology leaders to identify performance gaps, define practical transformation strategies, and deliver measurable results from strategy through implementation.
• Position Summary

• Position Summary
• The Hackett Group is seeking a Principal to lead and grow its Data & Analytics transformation capabilities. This senior client-facing leader will help organizations connect business strategy and operational priorities to data, analytics, artificial intelligence, technology, governance, and new ways of working. The ideal candidate combines strong technical and strategic depth with executive-level consulting, business development, and delivery leadership.

This role will assess current-state capabilities, identify gaps, define future-state architectures and operating models, and guide clients through implementation. Success requires the ability to translate complex data, analytics, and AI concepts into practical business outcomes while building trusted client relationships and generating new consulting opportunities.

• Key Responsibilities
• Shape business and operational strategy: Advise senior executives on how data, analytics, and AI can enable growth, efficiency, better decision-making, and sustainable competitive advantage.
• Assess current-state capabilities: Lead data and analytics maturity assessments, stakeholder interviews, benchmarking, gap analyses, and capability reviews across strategy, governance, architecture, delivery, and operations.
• Design future-state solutions: Define target-state data and analytics architectures, technology roadmaps, operating models, governance structures, talent needs, and ways of working aligned to business priorities.
• Guide data and AI transformation: Help clients determine how data and analytics should be used across the business and how trusted, governed data can support AI, machine learning, automation, and advanced analytics use cases.
• Establish governance: Design practical governance for data ownership, stewardship, risk, privacy, quality, metadata, platforms, models, AI use, and decision rights.
• Lead client delivery: Direct complex transformation programs from strategy through implementation, ensuring high-quality outcomes, measurable value, executive alignment, and effective change adoption.
• Drive business development: Originate, shape, and close consulting opportunities; develop compelling proposals and points of view; expand senior client relationships; and contribute materially to practice growth and revenue.
• Build market presence: Represent The Hackett Group with clients and in the market through executive conversations, thought leadership, workshops, and industry forums.
• Develop teams: Lead multidisciplinary consulting teams, coach emerging leaders, and strengthen repeatable methods, tools, and offerings.

Data & Analytics Capability Scope

The Principal should be able to lead client conversations across the full Data & Analytics lifecycle, including strategy alignment, value measurement, vendor and ecosystem strategy, governance and stewardship, privacy and risk, data literacy, architecture and modeling, metadata and catalog management, platforms and storage, data acquisition and integration, engineering and deployment, AI/ML development and MLOps, descriptive and diagnostic analytics, predictive and prescriptive analytics, self-service analytics, master and reference data, data quality, and monitoring and observability.

• Required Qualifications
• Significant leadership experience in data and analytics strategy, transformation, consulting, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated success developing business and selling complex consulting engagements; strong business development capability is essential.
• Proven record of leading high-value client delivery, from executive strategy through roadmap development and implementation.
• Strong understanding of how data, analytics, and AI create business value across functions and industries.
• Technical credibility across modern data architecture, platforms, integration, governance, analytics, AI/ML, and related operating models.
• Ability to move fluently between business strategy, operating model, process, organizational, data, and technology discussions.
• Exceptional executive communication, facilitation, storytelling, and consultative problem-solving skills.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with C-suite and senior functional and technology leaders.
• Experience leading and developing consulting teams in a collaborative, results-oriented environment.
• Willingness to travel as required to support clients and business development activities.

• Preferred Qualifications
• Prior experience in a consulting firm, advisory practice, or data and analytics leadership role with direct revenue responsibility.
• Experience building or scaling a data and analytics offering, capability, or consulting portfolio.
• Experience with enterprise data transformation, AI strategy, analytics modernization, or governance at scale.

• Location
• This position may be based anywhere in the United States. Chicago, New York City, and Atlanta are preferred locations.