Double Vision: Bill Kracunas MBA '11

Bill Kracunas MBA ’11 spends a large part of his today looking at tomorrow. The IT and business advisory consultant helps companies see past their daily operations to focus on plans for growth and strategy that are often not visible to the naked eye.

“Consultants are problem solvers,” observes Kracunas, who holds two executive posts at McGladrey & Pullen. “You have to imagine a future where technology enables companies to operate and collaborate in new ways, to more effectively deliver products and services.”

His own powers of foresight and dedication to clients helped to land Kracunas on the list of “Top 25 Consultants  of 2011” compiled by Consulting Magazine. 

Since 2010, Kracunas has leveraged his business acumen and tech skills to lead two practices at McGladrey: the East Region’s Technology Consulting practice and the Boston area consulting practice.

“I help businesses by understanding how they define success and what goals they’re trying to achieve,” he explains, noting that McGladrey focuses on mid-market clients with an annual bottom line anywhere from $15 million to $500 million. “Then I help them develop a strategy that incorporates people, process and technology to reach those objectives.”

The work often involves deciding if or when some new technology should be adopted. One example is cloud computing, through which companies store and manage systems and data on remote web servers.

“If I were starting a small business today, I probably wouldn’t have any servers in my office,” says Kracunas. “But if a company has already invested heavily in on-premise gear, you don’t want to just throw it out the back door. So you need a transition plan for moving to a hybrid model and, perhaps eventually, into a cloud-based model.”

The alumnus keeps another eye fixed on McGladrey’s Boston consulting practice, which provides technology consulting, financial advisory and risk advisory services. His oversight of the 120-person practice includes hiring the right people, cultivating a great work environment, and keeping the business growing and profitable. 

His dual roles of practice leader and practicing consultant provide twice the exposure to new business strategies and technologies. “The result is that I can bring all of my collective experiences both to my clients and to McGladrey’s consulting practice to improve performance.

The peer-nominated Top 25 recognition was a “huge honor,” he says. But the greatest rewards come from seeing colleagues be successful and clients achieve their goals.

“The best thing is when a client calls or sends an email saying how happy they are with our people and services,” Kracunas says. “In our industry, that’s worth more than gold.”