IN THE WORLD of strategy consulting, it is not uncommon for consultants to have varied résumés. Few, however, have navigated cabinet meetings with heads of state before advising Fortune 500 firms. Julien Willard is one of them.
Dr Willard grew up in the Soviet Union, the son of two aerospace scientists turned diplomats. He stumbled into medicine indirectly. A childhood curiosity about biology was meant to be sated with a book. Instead, his grandfather bought him a microscope. He has been studying living systems—first plants and animals, then people and their behaviors, now businesses—ever since.
After earning his medical degree, Dr Willard received a call from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The government invited him to contribute to domestic and cross-border health policy and partner with the European Union members. A newly minted M.D. with a taste for policy, he wrote to Melinda Gates requesting support for graduate study. He got the scholarship and attended the University of London.
In the years that followed, he helped set UK policy on access to medicines, drafted briefs on TRIPS-plus provisions, and presented at the United Nations General Assembly. He led economic research on patent linkage and data exclusivity in low-income countries, and worked with Oxford University to model the burden of disease across emerging markets.
His work in economic intelligence took him across six continents, advising governments on health economics, drug pricing and access—from estimating the cost of universal health coverage to helping establish the Pandemic Emergency Fund. At the time, he was the youngest division lead in pharmacoeconomics. As an openly gay diplomat, he also served on the governance committee of the joint HIV vaccine development program between the World Bank and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
“After 15 years in overseas service with foreign intelligence, I’ve developed deep expertise in due diligence, economics, and decision intelligence for multinational organizations. I specialize in uncovering how socioeconomic environment and lived experience shape business behavior—or stall it. At the request of executive clients, I’ve profiled employees who quietly sabotage transformations and delivered tactical solutions to neutralize risk. Today, I advise startup founders on risk strategy and support VC and PE firms with due diligence ahead of high-stakes investments,” shares Julien Willard.
After moving to the private sector, Dr Willard has focused on the intersection of product innovation, new technologies, and business strategy.
He partnered with a Chief Digital Officer of the Fortune 100 company to improve clinical development by employing classical computing and quantum machine learning techniques. Motivated by the family history of diabetes, he advised a medical technology company on a product and technology strategy for a novel glucose monitoring sensor. Today this medical device is one of the leading lifestyle products in the U.S. market.
Driven by passion for behavioral analysis, Dr Willard helped Fortune 500 companies’ leaders to decide on product pivots, new technology implementations, and organizational transformations that stalled due to mediocracy. He conducted due diligence inquiries for multinational corporations and startups seeking clarity for critical decisions, including before mergers and acquisitions.
Dr Willard argues that knowledge and experience accumulated throughout our lives is there to be utilized. This is why when the opportunity arose, he applied his practical knowledge in forensic intelligence and strategy to help launch Pulse by NABP™, a national platform for drug traceability and fraud prevention.
Dr Willard served as a leader in technology strategy at Accenture, focusing on life sciences and insurance clients. Most recently, he was a Partner at IBM’s strategy group and a lead health economist. His work spanned development of global value tools for blockbuster therapies, support of oncology trial design, and digitization of the HEOR process.
He has contributed to Harvard Business Review, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank Group, IMF proceedings, and journals such as the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis.
Dr Willard received the World Bank President’s Excellence Award. He is a visiting professor at George Washington and Harvard Universities and has represented Oxfam at the G20 and the United Nations General Assembly.
A U.S. citizen, Dr Willard lives with his partner Daniel in Los Angeles, CA. He is a committed mentor of women in STEM, a member of ISPOR and the American Economic Association, and serves on the board of the San Diego Youth Symphony. ■
Clients grappling with inflation and economic uncertainty have cut back on splashy consulting projects. The industry demands in-depth functional expertise, more 1:1 facetime with executives and shared risk.
My experience as a clinician and diplomat shaped these values that now guide which clients I work with and problems I solve.
I won't sugarcoat problems or dance around tough issues. I call on bullshit because if we are talking, we got here for a reason. Clear, direct communication builds trust faster than comfortable lies ever will.
I ruthlessly eliminate distractions that don't serve your goals. When everyone else chases shiny objects, we'll stay locked on what actually moves the needle.
I am an economist, I respect data and analysis. Opinions are interesting, data is compelling, results are everything. I ground every recommendation in facts, not wishful thinking or industry trends.
I recognize that your problem may have occurred before in your or other industry. But it is a valid and a complex problem.
The loudest voice rarely has the best answer. I listen first, speak second, and change course when evidence demands it. When I don't know something, you will be the first to hear it from me.
When I say I'll deliver something, consider it done. No excuses, no missed deadlines, no diminished quality under pressure.
Innovation doesn't mean throwing away what works. I build on your existing strengths while strategically challenging what needs to change.
