Booz Allen Hamilton: An insider guide - Gymkhana

insurance companies, and HMOs. It was a 3-day game to model what wouldhappen if smallpox broke out in a city like Detroit or Virginia Beach. We’retrying to help people understand the scary world we live in.”James Woolsey, a Booz Allen vice president who used to run the CIA, is one ofthe most prominent members of the firm working in this area.Feel-Good ConsultingThe FirmBooz Allen makes an effort to offer its consultants plenty of opportunities todo good deeds. One insider working on a project for the Children’s DefenseFund says, “This is my second pro bono project at Booz Allen, and I thinkthat’s kind of nice. It makes me feel good about my consulting work. My officetakes that seriously, and we treat them just like any other client. It’s a greatopportunity, and I’m not sure I’d be able to do it at any other firm.” Anotherhot pro bono project is the Harlem Small Business Initiative, which Booz Allenworks on in collaboration with Columbia Business School and the NationalBlack MBA Association. Former President Bill Clinton is another high-profileparticipant in the project. “It’s a project that has been generating a lot ofinternal buzz,” says one insider. It’s worth noting that Booz Allen doesn’t limititself to charitable involvement and pro bono projects with star power; itsroster includes the Special Olympics, the United Negro College Fund,Christmas in April, and Amigos de las Americas.In 2004, Booz Allen signed a 3-year agreement to take over title sponsorship ofthe PGA Tour event in Washington, D.C. The event—formerly the KemperOpen, now the Booz Allen Classic—attracts more than 180,000 fans annually.“One of our primary reasons for doing this,” an insider says, “was to be able togive back to the Washington metro community. We have committed to donateat least $1 million every year to nonprofits in the D.C. area. In the first 23 years27