When Sandra Forero stepped into the corporate world as an intern in 2001, she could hardly have imagined that two and a half decades later, she would still call the same organization home. Today, she serves as the chief operating officer of ZS, a prominent global management consulting and technology firm. Reaching the C-suite without ever leaving the company where her career began is a rare achievement in the modern corporate landscape. Her steadfast loyalty to ZS is both a reflection of the firm’s unique corporate culture and a testament to the deliberate culture-building work she has championed throughout her remarkable twenty-five-year tenure—a dedication that previously earned her a coveted spot on Consulting Magazine’s prestigious “Top 25 Consultants” list.
Yet, Forero’s path to the upper echelons of global leadership began thousands of miles away from corporate boardrooms, rooted in resilience, adaptation, and unwavering determination. She still carries vivid memories of what it felt like to move to the United States from Colombia as a newly married immigrant with no financial safety net and a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to care for. In those early days, the path forward left zero room for hesitation. There was simply no choice but to work exceptionally hard, master the principles of strict personal discipline, and manage time with meticulous precision. Procrastination was a luxury she could not afford, and putting things off for later was never an option.
Rather than letting those early trials and demanding experiences harden her emotionally, they shaped her into a deeply capable, highly resilient, and remarkably empathetic leader. That empathy now informs every aspect of how she manages people, navigates complex business challenges, and connects with clients across the globe.
A prime example of her operational capability and leadership style dates back roughly twelve years, when Forero led one of the most significant and complex client engagements in ZS’s history. A major client was undergoing a massive organizational evolution, transforming into a global analytics and technology shared services organization while simultaneously implementing an entirely new cloud-based technology infrastructure. As the lead project director for ZS, Forero recalls feeling an immense sense of privilege to be at the helm of such a sweeping corporate transformation.
“It was hard, and there were difficult moments, but it ultimately created this great opportunity and platform for me to build strong client relationships across many different functions, and more importantly for us to drive incredible impact for our client,” Forero recalls. Looking back at the endeavor, she notes the monumental scope of the undertaking. “It was one of the first global implementations that ZS did of that kind. It was also a chance to partner with so many others at ZS, subject-matter experts that needed to work collaboratively together to make the program successful. The entire experience helped propel the careers of so many good people here while driving real impact for the client organization.”
Stepping into her current role as chief operating officer, Forero applies that exact same strategic vision and passion for transformation within ZS itself. Her ongoing focus centers on evolving the global management consulting and technology firm to ensure it consistently stays on the cutting edge of industry standards and technological innovation.
“We want to improve life and how we live it,” she reflects, discussing her overarching philosophy. “That has different meanings for different people, but for me, that gives me clarity of purpose here. I want to drive the best impact for our clients and help them solve tough problems. I’ve learned that if that’s always your first concern, everything else will follow.”
That deep-seated passion for impact extends far beyond external client deliverables and directly into the internal fabric of the ZS community. As the firm experienced rapid international expansion, Forero and several of her colleagues recognized a growing operational risk: the distinct culture that made ZS such a special place to work was in danger of becoming diluted, lacking the necessary mechanisms to be properly translated and evangelized at the same breakneck speed of growth.
To address this challenge head-on, Forero proposed the creation of a dedicated worldwide team tasked explicitly with defining, nurturing, and broadcasting the core tenets of the culture that had built ZS into the powerhouse it is today. This vision materialized as the firm’s People and Culture Team. While the foundational concept was initially established by ZS’s founders four decades prior, Forero and her leadership team re-created and modernized the framework with a sharp focus on sustaining and evolving the specific cultural elements that define the ZS employee experience.
This shared commitment to community and mutual support was vividly demonstrated during the global COVID-19 pandemic. When a devastating wave of the virus struck India, leaving local health systems overwhelmed and facing severe shortages, ZS mobilized its global network, partners, and resources to locate and deliver critical oxygen supplies and ventilators directly to ZS team members and their families who were desperately in need.
“India was perhaps our most significant effort, but we were able to prioritize the wellbeing of ZSers across the world,” Forero says. “I’m so proud of having been part of the leadership team that was able to respond to such a crisis moment with such a big heart. We were able to provide a lot of extra support in a very hard moment for our people.”
In addition to her operational duties and culture initiatives, Forero played a pivotal role in institutionalizing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the firm. She was a founding member and former chair of the ZS Inclusion and Belonging Council, a high-level governing body that collaborates directly with the Shareholders’ Council—ZS’s board of directors—to cultivate an inclusive, high-performance environment across the organization. This initiative represents another defining chapter in her long tenure, as the council actively advances policies, programs, and opportunities designed to foster fairness, expand career access, strengthen demographic representation, and build a more deeply engaged and empowered workforce.
To lay the groundwork for the council, Forero’s team conducted rigorous external benchmarking and comprehensive internal analyses to pinpoint exact areas where ZS needed to improve. From this data, they developed a robust set of strategic recommendations and ensured that the new council’s mission held significant institutional weight by establishing a direct reporting line to the Shareholders’ Council.
The council remains fully active today, carrying forward the vital mission of ensuring that as ZS diversifies its portfolio of work, the organization continues to mirror the broad spectrum of skills, backgrounds, and human experiences required in modern business. Forero’s dedication to professional equity and leadership development also extends well beyond the walls of ZS. She lends her expertise to the wider industry by serving on the Global Board of Directors for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, where she currently holds the executive position of secretary and treasurer.
If there is a defining pattern to Forero’s professional life, it is that whenever she identifies an unmet need within an organization or community, she steps forward to address it. That proactive stance is simply who she is, and as she readily explains, pretending to be anyone else is not an option.
“I just have to be me,” she says. “That means I admit my mistakes, I’m vulnerable, and I don’t act like I know everything. I invest in others, because building strong teams not only drives success but is immensely satisfying to see people growing. I love to work with others. Collaboration is so important; bringing the best of ZS to our clients can only be done working as a team. ZS has always given me opportunities to do all this and to be myself, and that’s what makes this place so great.”
What began decades ago as a young family’s leap of faith moving from Colombia has since blossomed into a rich partnership spanning both a storied career and a deeply fulfilling personal life. Forero often describes her husband, Mauricio, as her best friend, while affectionately referring to her daughter and son as improved versions of herself and her husband—lovingly dubbed “Version 2.0.” She maintains daily contact with her siblings back in Colombia, who remain a constant source of pride and joy. Whether she is rallying global teams through unprecedented business transformations, designing inclusive internal frameworks, or nurturing her close-knit family, Sandra Forero continues to demonstrate a rare talent for bringing the right people together to achieve extraordinary things, both on and off the clock.
