Meet Alejandro Perez

As a ghSMART Principal based in Boston, Alejandro provides executives, boards, and investors with meaningful guidance as they approach complex leadership issues. With an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and years of experience consulting in both the U.S. and Costa Rica, Alejandro’s advisory work gives him opportunities to collaborate one-on-one with leaders during complex transitions that transform their organizations.

Before ghSMART: Drawn to Creating Organizational Impact

I started my professional career at Ernst & Young in Costa Rica as a Mergers & Acquisitions analyst in their Transaction Advisory Services group. There, I gained a foundation on how to think about company value, and more importantly, my first opportunities to advise clients on navigating their most pressing challenges. I moved to Boston to complete my MBA at MIT, focusing on managerial best practices for large corporations. It was a unique opportunity to build a network of global leaders, learn new approaches, and be exposed to the larger world of management consulting.  

After that, I joined Deloitte’s M&A and Transformation group, leading multinational teams supporting Fortune 500 clients. As an advisor, I guided clients in defining and achieving strategic, financial, and organizational objectives during their M&A transactions and large-scale transformations. What I liked most about that work was “fixing the train while it was in motion.” M&A deals impact the entire organization, and my role was to find ways to mitigate or alleviate change, so that my clients could continue running their operations smoothly while the company underwent significant transformation.

Joining ghSMART: Meaningful Focus, Accomplished Colleagues

I was attracted to ghSMART for two reasons - a meaningful career path where I could focus on what I enjoy most, and the engaging people I’d be collaborating with. In my prior role, I often supported executives as they transitioned into more senior roles and discovered I had a passion for focusing on the individual. Joining ghSMART gave me the opportunity to do that work full-time, delivering impact through a personal lens, which I found to be very meaningful.  

Second, I enjoyed the people I met throughout the recruiting process. I have always loved learning, which translates into a general flexibility on “what” I do. Where ghSMART stood out was on “who” I would be working with. Everyone I met was so smart, so accomplished, and so kind. It is truly remarkable that we attract people that share those characteristics.

Areas of Focus: Imparting Value, Forging Personal Connections

Currently, I split my time between private equity and larger corporate clients, a combination that gives me energy because the experiences are complementary. On the private equity side, impact is delivered with precision and at pace, because value is created on a tight timeline. I take immense pride in supporting deal partners in assessing CEO candidates and advising CEOs on configuring the right leadership team to achieve their investment goals.  

With corporations, I advise boards of large public corporations on their multi-year CEO (and CXO) succession journey, as well as C-suite executives on their most pressing talent needs - which allows me to make meaningful impact at a global scale. I can contribute to their mission to deliver value to shareholders while minimizing the disruption that comes from leadership changes.  

Deep Satisfaction at the Intersection of Organizational and Personal Growth

It’s exciting to know that my work at ghSMART gives me a window into other people’s professional lives in a way that few other experiences can yield in depth and breadth. Every time I conduct an assessment is an opportunity to reflect on how others face decision points in their careers. This builds pattern recognition but also invites self-reflection on how well I have faced similar choices in the past. I am also highly motivated by the fact that our clients are highly invested in what we uncover. After all, we are helping them think about how to improve upon their top priority: people.

Freedom and Flexibility to Shape Work and Life

I like forging deep personal bonds, and that extends to how I like working at the firm. I gravitate toward smaller teams where I can interact and develop meaningful relationships with colleagues. ghSMART’s culture of freedom and flexibility makes it possible to choose what, when, and who I work with. I am free to be intentional about the types of experiences I take on, and I have the flexibility to shape when I do it, allowing me to optimize for both work and life.  

For example, I am a proud husband to my wife, Maria Paulina, and dad to my precious kids, Gabriel and Elisa. After I returned from paternity leave, I wanted to continue to spend quality time with my newborn daughter. ghSMART made it easy to optimize my schedule and plan the types of projects I took on, which helped me transition back into work without feeling like I had to choose between the two. That flexibility to manage my time and the freedom to choose the type of work I did was invaluable.  

The same has been true when I have wanted an extra challenge. I have said yes to many opportunities because of the potential to learn, forge new or deepen pre-existing client relationships, or even work with someone that I haven’t worked with before at the firm. At ghSMART, it truly is about picking your own adventure, which is why I constantly find myself reflecting on how fortunate I am to be a part of this team.

Iron Sharpening Iron: “The Power of You” in Action

When I think about ghSMART’s commitment to “The Power of You,” my mind goes to the opportunity to have impact on a large scale. What drew me to ghSMART was the change to work with world-class consultants and serve clients at the top of the house. It was the concept of iron sharpening iron. ghSMART is the perfect place to become that trusted advisor to leaders looking to address the most critical business decisions. At ghSMART, you have the power to be an integral part of that conversation.

Alejandro’s full bio can be found here.