Cristian Leata

Hey there, I'm Cristian! I’m a professional coach with extensive experience in the consulting space. I graduated from the University of Oxford and spent around 4.5 years at McKinsey, working across 8 countries and 9 industries, on engagements as diverse as gold mining in Papua New Guinea to pricing chemicals in Germany. During this time, I developed my consulting and coaching toolkit, being ranked in the top quartile of firm consultants for 6 consecutive evaluations and acting as lead faculty for several cohorts of McKinsey new joiner trainings. Afterwards, I started pathtoconsulting and trained 400 candidates across 50 geographies in roles ranging from Business Analyst Intern to Junior Partner. What I realised early on was that in coaching, everybody can claim results, but few can show them. So I started measuring my results and publishing an annual, transparent report of success rates. Currently: >>> 88% of the candidates I worked with and who completed the interview process received an offer >>> 63% of those who interviewed with McKinsey, BCG or Bain received an offer I understand that every candidate who chooses to work with me makes an investment in me. My ambition is to do my best for each of them, session after session, so they get the offer they're targeting, but also develop the skills that will accelerate their consulting trajectory. Overall, my coaching has four focus pillars (all of which are inspired by my learnings at McKinsey): 1. Outcomes-first. My goal is not for you to pass the interview, but for you to display in the interview such strong consulting skills that giving you the offer will be the obvious choice for the interviewers. In practice, that means my methodology is built on training first principles thinking, client-facing communication, and root cause problem solving - the same toolkit McKinsey consultants learn. 2. Strengths-based. The top consulting firms want candidates who shine at a particular thing, for instance, analytics, communication, or storylining. My goal is to understand from the first session what you are instinctively inclined to do well and then adjust our coaching sessions to polish that into a spike. That spike, more so than anything else, is what will bring you the offer. 3. Diagnostic-run. One reason why MBB success rates are under 5% is because the average candidate gets swamped in the prep process - they don't know what to focus on. When working with a candidate, I always kick off with a diagnostic whose primary purpose is to identify the 2-3 changes that will drive 80% of the effect. In short, the Parento Principle as applied to performance coaching. 4. Story-coherent. Consulting is a people business. Which is why, to be effective in the interview and on the job, you need a refined understanding of how to communicate with clients and with interviewers. Even more importantly, you need to know how to best convey your personal story and your motivation. This dimension is the most underestimated by the average candidate. Last but not least, I honestly believe that anybody can become a consultant. It is a trainable skill. It is a choice. And a commitment. I would love to be your trusted companion on the way. Thanks for your time, and if you're keen, reach out for an intro call or session so we take the first step towards your consulting offer.