Generations of Change
Youth Speaks With Authority At Corporate Executive Board

By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 12, 2007

When the Corporate Executive Board throws its annual black-tie bash, staffers call it "the prom." At last month's company-wide yearly review meeting, bosses decked out in goofy get-ups did YouTube parodies. A recent staff meeting ended with an office bowling party, open bar included.

Is this any way to run a company worth $2.9 billion?

They think so at the CEB, one of the fastest-growing consulting firms in the country and No. 51 on Forbes's 2006 list of America's 200 best small companies.

Scattered across the company's five offices in downtown Washington, about 2,000 20-somethings -- many hired straight out of college -- are advisers to business executives twice their age. Serving a clientele that includes Fortune 500 companies, they research a variety of business issues, both complex (How do I engage middle managers during periods of downsizing?) and simple (I'm doing a dress-code manual. What exactly is a flip-flop?). And they do it in a lively, sociable office culture that's in marked contrast to most of the companies they work for.

Ten years old, the Corporate Executive Board is a relatively new entrant in the consulting world, and the service it offers is different from the industry norm. Rather than hire business veterans to impart wisdom learned on the job, the CEB trains its young employees to dissect the problems managers face in a variety of industries. Corporations pay the CEB a fee to become members and then have access to best-practices research, seminars and personalized studies. Employees interview top executives about their everyday problems, then compile reports for members and lead industry-wide discussions.

"People ask, 'How do we get a thousand 24-year-olds to understand jobs they've never had and empathize with CEOs?' " said Melody Jones, 44, chief human resources officer. "At a traditional consulting firm, they might never have exposure to chief officers. But at CEB, at their age, we're putting them in a conference room and on the phone with the C-suite." (That's C as in chief executive.)

It's a quick ramp-up for the fledgling professionals. Nearly half of the 500 employees hired last year came right from college campuses. Twenty-eight percent of the staff is under 25, and about half are 25 to 35; the mean age is just over 29.

"They can tell by our voices that we're young. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked, 'How old are you again?' or 'What's your experience?' " said Seth Belford, 29, who joined the firm seven years ago. He is now responsible for getting companies to renew their memberships. "I think a lot of people are curious about how we're able to be a successful company with so many newbies."

The CEB formed in 1997 as a spinoff of the Advisory Board, a consulting firm focused on the health-care and financial-services industries started in 1979 by David G. Bradley, now a publisher who runs the Atlantic and several other magazines. The companies went public with the help of Jeffrey D. Zients, then the chairman, who is now a private investor.

After going public, in 1999, the CEB quickly surpassed its sister company in size and income. It plans to hire nearly 600 people this year and is scheduled to move into Waterview, a new 24-story building in Arlington, in early 2008.

Revenue has grown by an average of 20 percent a year since 2001.

CEB stock, however, has not done quite so well in the past year, peaking at $112.97 last spring but falling for the rest of 2006.

"In 2006, there were some concerns from investors about cash flow during the second and third quarters, and that had an effect on the stock," said Tim Yost, the CEB's chief financial officer.

CEB shares fell 16 percent a month ago after the company said sales would grow this year less than they did in 2006, and they have yet to kick back. The stock closed at $75.93 a share on Friday. Advisory Board shares closed at $51.76.

Executives acknowledge that the CEB isn't a destination for graduating MBAs. But the company is a sought-after brand at the 27 undergraduate campuses that are the main focus of recruiting, including Harvard, Yale, Georgetown and Duke. Some hires use their jobs to fill a gap between college and grad school. Others quickly move up the ranks.

And many use it as a steppingstone to other jobs -- so many that "we often joke about the high proportion of people in D.C. that either works here, dates someone who works here or lives with someone who works here," said Peter Freire, who has been with the company for 16 years and manages the department that offers research on human-resources issues. "It's like the six degrees of separation of CEB."

For Michelle Brown, 24, there weren't many other places to begin building a career with "just an international relations degree." She started with an entry-level CEB job three years ago after graduating from American University and was recently promoted. Her other options were working for a modest paycheck at a nonprofit or on Capitol Hill, "but a girl's gotta eat," she said. "I spent four years with great internships. I didn't want to go sit somewhere being someone's scheduler."

A visit to a CEB office on K Street gives the impression that the employees fit a certain profile. Many were class presidents, valedictorians, team captains. Asked to describe their colleagues, they use a lot of the same words: intellectually curious, driven, achievement-oriented. They tend to be impeccably dressed in a J. Crew kind of way.

More seasoned managers in the firm -- at the ripe old age of 32 or so -- say they're impressed by the professionalism displayed by the younger staff members. But putting so many ambitious, attractive young people in the same office is bound to present a unique set of workplace challenges. Several former employees, who have since left for law school or investment banking jobs, spoke of cliques and rumors.

"There are a lot of similarities between CEB and high school," said one former employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she still has working relationships with many people in the firm. "Sometimes people in power positions don't have enough life experience to manage people effectively."

Dress is sometimes an issue. One manager reported having to remind a group of young women that "they aren't in a sorority house -- especially in the summer when people wear less." The annual prom, usually held at the National Building Museum, has become a favorite target of non-CEB party crashers. After a rowdy incident that ended with someone in the museum's fountain a few years back, the company excluded hard liquor from the open bar, choosing to serve only wine and beer.

But many say the company's youth is one of its greatest assets.

For Diane Ainge, 23, the CEB provides a good transition to the working world. "It's like you're still in college -- I'm always around people my own age -- except everyone's so driven," she said at the bowling alley. "It's good to know that, if I work hard, I can go anywhere in the company in a matter of months."

Other consulting firms, such as McKinsey and Bain, also hire a lot of young people. What's different at the CEB, with its high turnover and fast growth, is how the fast track to management seems to move at the speed of light.

Todd Safferstone, 31, came to the CEB 10 years ago, fresh out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He applied for a job at the suggestion of his father, whose company was a member of the CEB's network. He met his wife, Rachel, now 31, three weeks into the job; they were one of three couples who paired off that summer and eventually got married. Last week, he moved to London to head the European division of the human resources practice.

"It would be hard for me to imagine another company that would put so much trust in me so early in my career," he said.

Staff writer Thomas Heath contributed to this report.