Steven Nguyen, Principal

At AG Consulting Partners, we are honored to work with a diverse group of people with a variety of talents and interests. Today, we are highlighting Expert Workforce Principal, Steven Nguyen to learn more about his work and passions outside of the office.

What’s your background? Where did you grow up and go to school?

I am a Seattle native, born and raised. I have lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life and cannot imagine living anywhere else. I come from a family of entrepreneurs who emigrated from Vietnam in the early 80s. I spent most of my youth working at the family dry cleaning business—my family still operates about a half dozen locations in the Seattle area. I always thought I would follow in my family footsteps and open my own small business after high school, but my family pushed me to get a college education. I attended the University of Washington and obtained my Bachelor’s in 2008.

You’ve been working in consulting for just under 10 years. Why did you decide to go into consulting and what are your favorite aspects of the industry?

I didn’t plan to get into consulting – I actually knew very little about the industry coming out of college, but I knew it would be a great learning opportunity. My favorite part of being a consultant is the constant change and the learning opportunities it provides. I found consulting very challenging at first–learning how to prioritize, shift focus, and work with a variety of people across industries and companies. Only when I began to embrace the change did I start to truly grow and learn to love consulting.

Can you tell me about your current project?

I am currently supporting my client team with project management for a Support Solutions Group. We focus on building and enhancing support offerings available to Enterprise customers. I work closely with the client to drive strategic initiatives and projects and ensure the successful deployment and landing of each release.

What’s one interesting thing about you we should all know?

I’m very passionate about social work and working with immigrant communities, having witnessed the day-to-day struggles my family experienced moving to the United States. Throughout college, I volunteered at a non-profit organization called Asian Counseling and Referral Service which focuses on providing support and resources to Asian immigrants. I lead their naturalization classes on the weekends for nearly two years where I helped immigrants obtain their US citizenship. This had a profound impact on me which led me to change my course of study from Economics to American Ethnic Studies.

What TV shows, movies, books, or podcasts are you consuming right now?

I have a 4 year-old and a 3 month-old at home who keep me pretty busy. If I’m not watching Peppa Pig and listening to Taylor Swift with my daughter, I’m working on finishing the latest season of Black Mirror or sneaking in an episode of The Office.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?

To truly be successful as a consultant, you must be adaptable and flexible in your approach. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to succeed in a client engagement. Every project has its own set of unique challenges that requires me to adapt to the client’s work style and needs. When I start a new project, half of my ramp-up time is understanding the scope and requirements of the project while the other half is spent meeting team members and understanding the culture and different personalities within the team.

Everyone who knows you, knows you love being a dad. What’s been your favorite part about parenthood and what have you learned from it?

My kids are my life and I love being able to come home to them every single day. There are so many great things about parenthood but if I had to pick a favorite it would be watching my 4 year old daughter develop into her own little person, especially over the last couple of years where her personality and humor have really blossomed and then realizing how much of my wife and I are a part of who she is. It’s like she was able to pick the best traits from both of us and made it her own. I am excited to see the same development in my son as he gets older.

At AG Consulting Partners, we believe in taking care of our people first to enable them to bring their best to every client project. Our employees embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and embody our core values: transparency, stewardship, and intention. Founded in 2009, and headquartered in the Greater Seattle area, AG Consulting Partners is recognized as one of Inc 5000 and Puget Sound Business Journal’s fastest growing private companies.