When she was a child, some of Sandra Ohrn Moose’s favorite moments were spent in conversation with her parents around the dinner table, where each would relate the events of the day.
“My father was a businessman—treasurer for the New England Electric System. His work sounded fascinating to me,” she recently recalled. “I was always interested in his descriptions of what he did and the various issues of his business day, as he recounted what happened and what he found to be of interest or frustrating.”
Those lively conversations led her to major in economics, which led to a career in business consulting, and eventually earned her seats at the tables of many a boardroom, in both the corporate and philanthropic sectors. Her numerous leadership roles include being the presiding director of Verizon Communications and the president of the board of trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The most recent nod to her business strategy and leadership skills came this summer. Moose was selected as chair of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Board of Trustees. She is the first woman elected to the position since the creation of the foundation in 1934, after serving on the foundation’s board of trustees since 2000.
Retiring chairman Stephen L. Brown had great praise for her upon the announcement of her new role: “For more than a decade, it has been my great pleasure to serve with Sandy Moose on the Sloan Foundation’s board of trustees,” he said. “She is engaged, insightful and passionately dedicated to the foundation and its mission.”
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic institution based in New York City that makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance.
“It is an honor to have been selected to be the chair,” said Moose, Wheaton trustee emerita. “Sloan is a wonderful institution undertaking worthwhile research which has had a history of making significant impact. I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to be of service in this way. It is gratifying that my colleagues have such confidence in me.”
The work at the foundation in many respects is an extension of what she has done throughout her long career at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which she joined in 1968 and ultimately became a senior managing partner and director. Moose, who has a Ph.D. and an M.A. in economics from Harvard University, is believed to be one of the first female management consultants to rise to the profession’s top ranks at a major firm.
At BCG, she has worked as consultant to CEOs and top management teams in a broad range of industries—particularly financial services, telecommunications, and consumer goods—advising them on an array of strategic, organizational and financial issues. She was also the managing partner of BCG’s New York office for more than 10 years. She continues to serve as a senior advisor to BCG.
“I inherently enjoy solving problems and helping people,” she says. “Consulting at its core is a caring profession.”
Moose, who received an honorary degree during Wheaton’s Commencement in 2009, credits the college for helping her build her confidence through the leadership roles she had on campus and for preparing her well for graduate school, which gave her additional credentials.
“There were few women in my era in business,” she notes. “Having a doctorate in economics helped me to not only ‘get through the proverbial door,’ but also to establish credibility once through the door.”