Principal, Business Strategy

Cortico-X; United States; On-site; USD 200,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote work

Job summary

Cortico-X is seeking a Principal, Business Strategy to lead high-impact client relationships and end-to-end engagements, translating business challenges into actionable strategies and operating-model transformations.

This client-facing role also serves as a Practice Area Leader, shaping the growth, offerings, and go-to-market priorities for the Business Strategy vertical, with a strong emphasis on development and results.

Qualifications

• MBA or equivalent graduate business degree required.
• 10+ years of experience in management consulting, business strategy, or experience-led transformation.
• 5+ years in senior client-facing advisory roles with executive impact.
• Demonstrated, quantifiable business development results — not just delivery — with clear ownership of origination through close.
• Proven track record designing operating models, governance structures, or strategic roadmaps for complex organizations.
• Experience working with both large enterprises and growth-stage companies preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain trust-based relationships with senior client stakeholders.
• Lead end-to-end client engagements translating challenges into actionable strategies.
• Serve as a Practice Area Leader shaping the Business Strategy vertical.
• Develop strategy roadmaps, operating model blueprints, and phased delivery plans.
• Mentor project teams and manage scopes and budgets.
• Lead discovery and visioning sessions; surface gaps and opportunities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure strategy translates to delivery.

Skills

Executive presence

Strategic thinking

Communication

Change management

People leadership

Business development

Education

MBA or equivalent

Job description

Cortico-X was built on a simple belief: what's best for people is what's best for the organization. We help leaders turn that belief into action by connecting insight, strategy, and transformation in ways that create stronger experiences and better business outcomes.

This is not consulting for consulting's sake. Our work is designed to move organizations forward by helping them make smarter decisions, align around what matters most, and turn human understanding into real change.

We are building a different kind of firm for the AI era — one that treats human experience as a strategic advantage, not a side consideration. If that kind of work energizes you, read on.

The Opportunity

The Principal, Business Strategy serves as a foundational leader within Cortico-X's Business Strategy vertical. You will own high-impact client relationships and lead end-to-end consulting engagements that help organizations embed experience at the core of how they operate and compete. Working directly with C-suite and VP-level stakeholders across Fortune 500 enterprises and high-growth startups, you will translate business challenges into actionable strategies, roadmaps, and operating model transformations that deliver measurable value.

This is a client-facing, advisory-first role. You will also serve as a Practice Area Leader for the Business Strategy vertical — shaping how the practice grows, wins, and delivers. This role carries an elevated business development mandate, and strong performance is expected to lead quickly into broader practice leadership scope, with wider P&L ownership and direct partnership with the Vice President.

What You'll Do

Client Leadership & Business Development

• Build and maintain trust-based relationships with senior client stakeholders, serving as a credible and strategic advisor to C-suite and VP-level executives
• Own a personal business development target and lead the full sales process — from origination through close — at a scale that meaningfully exceeds a standard Principal-level book of business
• Develop a deep understanding of each client's business context, challenges, and objectives — translating that understanding into strategic insights and actionable recommendations that drive measurable outcomes
• Present findings, frameworks, and recommendations to executive audiences with clarity, conviction, and executive presence
• Begin building the market-facing relationships and referral networks that will underpin a future practice-wide growth mandate
• Lead discovery and visioning sessions to surface business model gaps and experience-led transformation opportunities
• Translate business objectives into actionable strategy roadmaps, operating model blueprints, and phased delivery plans
• Design and reimagine business and operating models that place customer and employee experience at the center
• Develop governance frameworks and experience leadership models that enable sustained organizational change
• Lead experience portfolio planning and prioritization exercises, balancing short-turn wins with long-term transformation goals
• Craft compelling value cases and strategic narratives that align stakeholders and drive investment decisions
• Serve as a Practice Area Leader for the Business Strategy vertical — shaping its direction, offerings, and growth from the outset
• Partner closely with the Vice President, Business Strategy on practice strategy, positioning, and go-to-market priorities, with increasing autonomy as tenure and performance build
• Help define and evolve the practice's methodologies, delivery frameworks, and internal playbooks
• Contribute to practice health reporting — surfacing risks, gaps, and emerging opportunities to the Vice President and firm leadership

Change Enablement & Delivery

• Develop change enablement strategies that prepare organizations to absorb and sustain transformation
• Define success metrics and governance structures to track progress against strategic objectives
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams — including data, design, and technology practitioners — to ensure strategy translates to delivery
• Facilitate workshops and alignment sessions with diverse stakeholder groups
• Lead and mentor project teams of consultants, strategists, and analysts; manage workstreams, allocate resources effectively, and ensure engagements stay within scope and budget
• Begin developing the people-leadership and talent-development skills required of practice-wide leadership — mentoring Associate Principals and more junior team members
• Contribute to internal capability building, knowledge sharing, and firm-wide practice development

What You'll Bring

Experience

• MBA or equivalent graduate business degree required
• 10+ years of experience in management consulting, business strategy, or experience-led transformation, including required tenure at a top-tier strategy firm (McKinsey, Bain, or BCG)
• 5+ years in senior client-facing advisory roles with demonstrated impact at the executive level
• Demonstrated, quantifiable business development results — not just delivery — with clear ownership of origination through close
• Proven track record designing operating models, governance structures, or strategic roadmaps for complex organizations
• Experience working with both large enterprises and growth-stage companies preferred

Skills & Capabilities

• Strong strategic and business acumen; deep expertise in business and operating model design, organizational governance, and change management
• A genuine orientation toward business development — comfort originating and closing work, not only executing it
• Strong leadership and project management skills; ability to manage teams, budgets, and competing priorities simultaneously
• Comfort operating in ambiguity — quick to reorient as priorities shift without losing momentum or client confidence
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to craft compelling narratives for executive audiences
• Strong facilitation skills for workshops, alignment sessions, and strategic planning offsites

Personal Qualities

• Executive presence and credibility with senior leaders across functions
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias toward action and impact
• Collaborative team leader who thrives in ambiguous, fast-paced environments
• Intellectually curious with a strong point of view on the future of business transformation
• Genuinely energized by meeting new people, building rapport quickly, and winning others over; finds the challenge of initiating new relationships fun rather than draining

Why This Role, Why Now

• A clearly defined, accelerated path to broader practice leadership for strong performers
• Early exposure to practice-wide leadership, go-to-market strategy, and firm leadership partnership
• A front-row seat in building a new kind of experience transformation firm.
• A collaborative, low-ego, high-performance culture.
• Opportunities to shape strategy and make a tangible impact with clients.
• Fully remote with flexible work arrangements
• Competitive compensation including base salary, performance bonuses, and strong benefits

Salary: Actual compensation is influenced by many factors including skill set, experience, and qualifications. The range of starting base pay for this role is $200,000-$275,000.

Actual compensation will vary based on skills, experience, and qualifications.

• Cortico-X is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a team as diverse as the clients and communities we serve.