College of Business Alumni
MEET RONALD DIEL
MBA GRADUATE, 1979 (MGMT SCIENCE)
With an impressive resume, Ronald proves that going from the Air Force, to law school, to sharing vodka with Russian intelligence officers, to starting a consulting firm are just chapters in life’s book of journeys. Interview by Samantha Bruner BS '06
SB: Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed! I see here you received your MBA in 1979; what are you most proud of during your time as a student?
RD: Entering the program, I had no business background having majored in mathematics, so I needed to take thirty credits in prerequisites as well as thirty credits in graduate work. I’m particularly proud of the fact that as a full-time member of the Air Force (I was a computer programmer at NORAD), over a three-year period I completed all of the required courses in the evening, sometimes carrying as many as twelve credits, and still maintained an overall 3.9 GPA.
SB: Is there a faculty member from UCCS whom you would like to mention as a contributor to your education/professional path?
RD: At UCCS I had the pleasure of taking two or three courses with Fred McFadden as well as working on a project through him for a local business. He helped me get beyond the theory to practical considerations in applying what I learned to real business problems.
SB: Where did you find yourself after graduate school?
RD: When I left UCCS, I went directly to law school at the University of Wisconsin focusing on corporate law. From there I went to a Wall Street law practice at Sullivan & Cromwell in 1982, doing a mix of banking and corporate law. Although I really enjoyed the analytical challenges and content of law school, the content of a legal practice proved to be more routine and less interesting. Therefore, I left law to go back into business while remaining in New York. I now live on the West Side of Manhattan with my wife Lucinda.
SB: Presently, you are the President and CEO of the Diel Group, which is a management consulting firm. Tell us about your first experiences in consulting.
RD: My first consulting experience was with Price Waterhouse (PW) in the mid to late 80s. I worked in the investment company practice unit, helping financial services firms with technology-related aspects of compliance and accounting. The practice there was a great introduction to consulting and to the business values of a top-flight firm.
SB: Do you recall anything particularly interesting from your time with Price Waterhouse?
RD: Yes, actually we’d agreed to audit the issuance by Drexel Lambert of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) on behalf of one of the firm’s clients. This required us to build a cash flow projection system in four weeks to replicate one that another Big Eight firm had been using, which had taken more like six months to build. We did in fact complete the model on time including many late nights and a few all nighters, actually finding and fixing an error in the earlier model. This allowed the deal to close on time. When Drexel was shut down a few weeks later, we learned that had we been late, they would have defaulted on a bridge loan they’d used to finance the deal, and we would have been the proximate cause of the failure of the firm.
SB: What did you do after your time with PW?
RD: From PW, I crossed over to the business side, first as CTO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) and then in the technology strategy group at Merrill Lynch. At GSAM I had the privilege of supporting and working with Fischer Black on a couple of projects. His intellect and insights were as distinctive as you would expect from his reputation, but what made the biggest impression were his dignity, courtesy and the respect he showed to everyone at the firm. In my mind he still personifies the ideal of a true gentleman.
SB: Those are definitely some big name financial groups I know we’ve all heard of. I understand you left Merrill Lynch in 1995. What did you do after?
RD: I ventured into the world of startups as CTO of a firm focused on developing a smart card network for the former Soviet Union. Together with a few Citibank alumni--including their former president, Rick Braddock--we started the firm. The technology was state-of-the- art (we developed a multi-purse value card that could be processed in ATMs, including those linked by satellite), but the Russian market wasn’t able to support our business model.
SB: That sounds very interesting! What memories would you like to share about business with Russia?
RD: I appreciated the opportunity to visit Moscow repeatedly, as well as Kiev and Yerevan and to meet with senior Central Bank and various business people. I also had the opportunity to present our security model on several occasions to generals in FAPSE, the communications security arm of the former KGB. One of many striking experiences was to sit through an afternoon meeting with a former KGB general during which he smoked two full packs of cigarettes (interspersed with steady coughing). I also had the opportunity to share vodka toasts with multiple KGB officers on several occasions.
SB: What a memory! Tell us about how you eventually started the Diel Group?
RD: Well, after the start-up firm, I became a Vice President in the financial services practice at A.T. Kearney, where I eventually led the securities industry practice. This was a great opportunity to work with a team of very skilled and professional consultants in a true management consulting model. Ultimately, however, the slowdown in 2001 coupled with the strains of their relationship with EDS broke up the financial services group.
For the next three years I set up and ran The Diel Group, an independent firm performing a mix of strategy, program management and technology engagements for a mix of clients, including Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and T. Rowe Price. During this period, I had two employees, but more often used independent consultants to keep the cost base lower.
SB: What does some of your most recent work other than the Diel Group include?
RD: Most recently I was a managing director leading the financial services compliance practice at BearingPoint and a software license management initiative at Navigant Consulting. During this time, I had the opportunity to combine my legal training and experience with the operational and business experience I had gained in consulting and industry. Each of these firms eventually stumbled over the cyclicality of the consulting business – most dramatically at BearingPoint, which is now in bankruptcy.
SB: Now that you’ve returned to the Diel Group, what does your current work look like?
RD: I am putting together a compliance solution offering for the hedge fund industry, which combines three elements: a governance model we developed at BearingPoint, an investment advisor compliance framework from Navigant, and an operational risk system developed in my earlier pass at The Diel Group. Given the current push to register and further regulate hedge funds, we believe that the timing, features, and experience underlying this offering are well-suited to the current market.
SB: What obstacle are you currently facing?
RD: At this point, although it may seem more stable and secure, I’ve concluded that a position with a larger publicly held consulting firm really doesn’t bring much more security than being independent. Clients draw heavily upon consultants in good times but cut back drastically when things slow. By their nature, consulting firms cannot carry their staff well through a downturn, especially if they are subject to the quarterly reporting requirements of a publicly held firm.
SB: You have quite the resume, Mr. Diel. Would you mind sharing with us what you’ve learned throughout the years?
RD: Despite the widely varied roles I’ve played over time, I’ve also learned that the greatest opportunities to add value arise from combining diverse skills and experience to solve problems creatively. In each setting, I’ve been able to apply things learned from each of my earlier positions and, in fact, over time it’s the combination of experiences that becomes your unique value proposition. There are many people experienced in one or two of the areas I’ve worked in but very few with expertise in all of them.
SB: Thank you so much, Mr. Diel! We appreciated the chance to get to know you better as a College of Business alum!
MBA GRADUATE, 1979 (MGMT SCIENCE)
With an impressive resume, Ronald proves that going from the Air Force, to law school, to sharing vodka with Russian intelligence officers, to starting a consulting firm are just chapters in life’s book of journeys. Interview by Samantha Bruner BS '06
SB: Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed! I see here you received your MBA in 1979; what are you most proud of during your time as a student?
RD: Entering the program, I had no business background having majored in mathematics, so I needed to take thirty credits in prerequisites as well as thirty credits in graduate work. I’m particularly proud of the fact that as a full-time member of the Air Force (I was a computer programmer at NORAD), over a three-year period I completed all of the required courses in the evening, sometimes carrying as many as twelve credits, and still maintained an overall 3.9 GPA.
SB: Is there a faculty member from UCCS whom you would like to mention as a contributor to your education/professional path?
RD: At UCCS I had the pleasure of taking two or three courses with Fred McFadden as well as working on a project through him for a local business. He helped me get beyond the theory to practical considerations in applying what I learned to real business problems.
SB: Where did you find yourself after graduate school?
RD: When I left UCCS, I went directly to law school at the University of Wisconsin focusing on corporate law. From there I went to a Wall Street law practice at Sullivan & Cromwell in 1982, doing a mix of banking and corporate law. Although I really enjoyed the analytical challenges and content of law school, the content of a legal practice proved to be more routine and less interesting. Therefore, I left law to go back into business while remaining in New York. I now live on the West Side of Manhattan with my wife Lucinda.
SB: Presently, you are the President and CEO of the Diel Group, which is a management consulting firm. Tell us about your first experiences in consulting.
RD: My first consulting experience was with Price Waterhouse (PW) in the mid to late 80s. I worked in the investment company practice unit, helping financial services firms with technology-related aspects of compliance and accounting. The practice there was a great introduction to consulting and to the business values of a top-flight firm.
SB: Do you recall anything particularly interesting from your time with Price Waterhouse?
RD: Yes, actually we’d agreed to audit the issuance by Drexel Lambert of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) on behalf of one of the firm’s clients. This required us to build a cash flow projection system in four weeks to replicate one that another Big Eight firm had been using, which had taken more like six months to build. We did in fact complete the model on time including many late nights and a few all nighters, actually finding and fixing an error in the earlier model. This allowed the deal to close on time. When Drexel was shut down a few weeks later, we learned that had we been late, they would have defaulted on a bridge loan they’d used to finance the deal, and we would have been the proximate cause of the failure of the firm.
SB: What did you do after your time with PW?
RD: From PW, I crossed over to the business side, first as CTO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) and then in the technology strategy group at Merrill Lynch. At GSAM I had the privilege of supporting and working with Fischer Black on a couple of projects. His intellect and insights were as distinctive as you would expect from his reputation, but what made the biggest impression were his dignity, courtesy and the respect he showed to everyone at the firm. In my mind he still personifies the ideal of a true gentleman.
SB: Those are definitely some big name financial groups I know we’ve all heard of. I understand you left Merrill Lynch in 1995. What did you do after?
RD: I ventured into the world of startups as CTO of a firm focused on developing a smart card network for the former Soviet Union. Together with a few Citibank alumni--including their former president, Rick Braddock--we started the firm. The technology was state-of-the- art (we developed a multi-purse value card that could be processed in ATMs, including those linked by satellite), but the Russian market wasn’t able to support our business model.
SB: That sounds very interesting! What memories would you like to share about business with Russia?
RD: I appreciated the opportunity to visit Moscow repeatedly, as well as Kiev and Yerevan and to meet with senior Central Bank and various business people. I also had the opportunity to present our security model on several occasions to generals in FAPSE, the communications security arm of the former KGB. One of many striking experiences was to sit through an afternoon meeting with a former KGB general during which he smoked two full packs of cigarettes (interspersed with steady coughing). I also had the opportunity to share vodka toasts with multiple KGB officers on several occasions.
SB: What a memory! Tell us about how you eventually started the Diel Group?
RD: Well, after the start-up firm, I became a Vice President in the financial services practice at A.T. Kearney, where I eventually led the securities industry practice. This was a great opportunity to work with a team of very skilled and professional consultants in a true management consulting model. Ultimately, however, the slowdown in 2001 coupled with the strains of their relationship with EDS broke up the financial services group.
For the next three years I set up and ran The Diel Group, an independent firm performing a mix of strategy, program management and technology engagements for a mix of clients, including Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and T. Rowe Price. During this period, I had two employees, but more often used independent consultants to keep the cost base lower.
SB: What does some of your most recent work other than the Diel Group include?
RD: Most recently I was a managing director leading the financial services compliance practice at BearingPoint and a software license management initiative at Navigant Consulting. During this time, I had the opportunity to combine my legal training and experience with the operational and business experience I had gained in consulting and industry. Each of these firms eventually stumbled over the cyclicality of the consulting business – most dramatically at BearingPoint, which is now in bankruptcy.
SB: Now that you’ve returned to the Diel Group, what does your current work look like?
RD: I am putting together a compliance solution offering for the hedge fund industry, which combines three elements: a governance model we developed at BearingPoint, an investment advisor compliance framework from Navigant, and an operational risk system developed in my earlier pass at The Diel Group. Given the current push to register and further regulate hedge funds, we believe that the timing, features, and experience underlying this offering are well-suited to the current market.
SB: What obstacle are you currently facing?
RD: At this point, although it may seem more stable and secure, I’ve concluded that a position with a larger publicly held consulting firm really doesn’t bring much more security than being independent. Clients draw heavily upon consultants in good times but cut back drastically when things slow. By their nature, consulting firms cannot carry their staff well through a downturn, especially if they are subject to the quarterly reporting requirements of a publicly held firm.
SB: You have quite the resume, Mr. Diel. Would you mind sharing with us what you’ve learned throughout the years?
RD: Despite the widely varied roles I’ve played over time, I’ve also learned that the greatest opportunities to add value arise from combining diverse skills and experience to solve problems creatively. In each setting, I’ve been able to apply things learned from each of my earlier positions and, in fact, over time it’s the combination of experiences that becomes your unique value proposition. There are many people experienced in one or two of the areas I’ve worked in but very few with expertise in all of them.
SB: Thank you so much, Mr. Diel! We appreciated the chance to get to know you better as a College of Business alum!
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