When Sandra Forero stepped through the doors of ZS as an intern in 2001, she was simply trying to navigate the demands of pursuing her MBA while establishing a new life. More than two decades later, she remains at the exact same global management consulting and technology firm, having steadily climbed the ranks to become its chief operating officer in 2021. Her remarkable journey—one that recently earned her a spot on Consulting Magazine’s prestigious "Top 25 Consultants" list—is a testament not only to her personal resilience and sharp strategic vision, but also to the enduring culture of an organization she has spent her career helping to shape, protect, and expand.

Forero’s path to the executive suite began thousands of miles away from ZS’s corporate headquarters. She still carries vivid memories of moving to the United States from Colombia as a newly married young woman with no financial safety net and a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to care for. Faced with daunting circumstances and high stakes, she realized early on that she had no margin for error. There was simply no room for procrastination, hesitation, or leaving critical tasks for another day. That foundational chapter required intense hard work, rigorous discipline, and masterful time management. Yet, rather than letting the immense pressures of immigration and early parenthood harden her emotionally, those formative struggles forged a leader defined by deep empathy, formidable capability, and an unwavering commitment to bringing out the best in the people around her.

That blend of empathy and execution has continually defined her trajectory within the firm. Roughly a dozen years ago, Forero took on a project that would become a defining milestone in her career. She led ZS through a massive, highly complex client transformation that involved evolving a major organization into a global analytics and technology shared services enterprise while simultaneously deploying a brand-new cloud-based technical infrastructure. Looking back, Forero recalls feeling an immense sense of privilege to be at the helm of such a sweeping corporate overhaul.

It was an arduous undertaking characterized by inevitable challenges and high-pressure moments, but it ultimately provided a powerful platform for Forero to forge deep, lasting client relationships across multiple functional areas. Most importantly, it allowed her team to drive extraordinary, measurable impact for the client. The undertaking marked one of the first global implementations of its kind executed by ZS, serving as a masterclass in cross-functional collaboration. It required a diverse array of subject-matter experts within the firm to align their talents and work seamlessly together toward a common goal. Beyond delivering exceptional value to the client, the entire experience acted as a launching pad, accelerating the careers of numerous talented professionals within ZS and proving the immense power of collaborative consulting.

Now, as the chief operating officer, Forero applies those exact lessons on an enterprise-wide scale. Her day-to-day focus centers on driving similar transformative projects within ZS itself, constantly evolving the global firm to ensure it remains on the cutting edge of management consulting and technology. Her leadership philosophy is anchored by a clear, human-centric sense of purpose that reaches far beyond balance sheets and quarterly targets.

At its core, Forero believes the ultimate objective is to improve lives and the ways people live them. While that mission carries different meanings for different individuals, for her, it provides absolute clarity of purpose. Her primary goal is always to drive optimal impact for clients and help them untangle their most difficult, intractable problems. She has learned through decades of experience that if prioritizing client success and problem-solving remains the guiding light, everything else naturally falls into place.

That fierce dedication to positive impact does not stop at the client’s door; it extends just as powerfully to the internal community at ZS. As the firm experienced rapid global growth, Forero and several of her colleagues noticed a troubling vulnerability. The unique culture that made ZS such a special place to work was at risk of becoming diluted, failing to translate or evangelize effectively at the speed of the company’s expansion. Recognizing the urgency of the issue, Forero proposed the creation of a dedicated worldwide team tasked explicitly with defining, nurturing, and broadcasting the cultural tenets that had built ZS into an industry leader over the past four decades.

Originally inspired by principles established by ZS’s founders forty years prior, Forero and her team re-imagined the concept for a modern, global workforce. The resulting People and Culture Team was designed to actively cultivate and evolve the core elements of the firm’s identity. The true strength of this shared culture was laid bare during the unprecedented crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. When team members and their families in India faced a devastating shortage of medical supplies, oxygen, and ventilators, ZS mobilized its global network and resources to step into the breach.

While the relief efforts in India represented their most significant logistical undertaking during the pandemic, the firm maintained a resolute focus on the health and wellbeing of ZS employees across the globe. Forero expresses immense pride in having been part of a leadership team capable of responding to a historic global crisis with such empathy and swift action. Being able to provide extraordinary, tangible support during one of the darkest moments in modern history demonstrated that the firm’s cultural values were more than just corporate talking points; they were a living, breathing reality.

Forero’s institutional impact is further cemented by her foundational role in diversity and governance. She served as a founding member and the inaugural chair of the ZS Inclusion and Belonging Council, a high-level governing body that partners directly with the Shareholders’ Council—ZS’s board of directors—to cultivate an inclusive, high-performing environment. This chapter stands out as another defining milestone in her tenure, as the Council successfully advanced vital policies and initiatives designed to foster fairness, widen professional opportunities, strengthen underrepresented representation, and build a deeply engaged, empowered workforce.

To ensure these efforts were grounded in objective reality, the newly formed team conducted rigorous external benchmarking alongside thorough internal analyses to pinpoint precisely where ZS could improve. They developed a comprehensive set of strategic recommendations and successfully elevated the mission of the council by establishing a direct reporting line to the firm’s board of directors. The council remains fully active today, carrying forward the vital mission of ensuring that as ZS diversifies its portfolio of work, the organization remains a true reflection of the diverse skills, backgrounds, and experiences required in the modern economy.

Forero’s leadership and commitment to systemic improvement also extend far beyond the walls of ZS. She lends her time and expertise to external organizations, notably serving on the Global Board of Directors for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, where she holds the critical operational role of secretary and treasurer.

For anyone who has observed her career trajectory, a clear pattern emerges: whenever Forero identifies an unmet need or a systemic gap, she steps forward to address it. For her, this is not a calculated leadership strategy; it is simply who she is and all she knows how to be. She maintains that authenticity is non-negotiable in leadership. That philosophy means she is comfortable admitting her mistakes, displaying vulnerability, and resisting the urge to pretend she has all the answers. Instead, she chooses to invest heavily in the people around her. Building strong, cohesive teams not only drives superior business results, but watching others grow and succeed provides her with deep personal satisfaction. She firmly believes that collaboration is paramount, noting that delivering the absolute best of ZS to clients can only be accomplished by working as a unified team. Over the past twenty-four years, ZS has consistently provided her with the platform to do meaningful work while remaining entirely true to herself, a dynamic that she credits for keeping her rooted at the firm for more than two decades.

That same spirit of partnership and dedication defines her life away from the office. What began as a young marriage in Colombia has blossomed into a lifelong partnership spanning decades. Forero speaks of her husband, Mauricio, as her best friend, while proudly referring to her daughter and son as "Version 2.0"—improved, upgraded editions of herself and her husband. She also maintains close daily contact with her siblings back in Colombia, who remain a constant source of pride and joy. Whether she is orchestrating massive global transformations in the boardroom or nurturing her family across continents, Sandra Forero has mastered the art of bringing the right people together to build something extraordinary, both on and off the clock.