Consulting Magazine named Centric Consulting’s Bill Chamberlain and Joseph Ours Leaders in Technology.
Two of Centric Consulting’s technology experts were recognized among Consulting Magazine’s Consulting Leaders in Technology 2024 for their excellence and innovation in the technology consulting sector.
The annual awards program recognizes individuals and firms that not only set industry standards but advance the frontiers of technology. Bill Chamberlain, Centric Consulting’s Chicago team’s Director and Technology Practice Lead, was named a Tech Innovator, and Joseph Ours, Director of AI Strategy and Modern Software Delivery, was named an AI Innovator.
“The exponential growth of the technology industry over the past two decades has underscored the critical need for seasoned, knowledgeable, and innovative professionals to navigate the competitive and ever-evolving technological terrain,” Consulting Magazine said in its announcement. “Consulting Magazine acknowledges the surging demand for expertise in guiding companies through this dynamic landscape, thus celebrating the outstanding contributions of these leaders.”
Chamberlain uses his offshoring and custom app development expertise to guide teams to deliver innovative technologies that solve his client’s toughest problems. For example, one of his clients is among the largest consumer packaged goods (CPG) businesses in the world, with many food and beverage brands under its umbrella.
The Fortune 500 company came to him because they wanted to digitize B2B ordering for their retailers across the world with an easy-to-use app, but they needed outside resources to execute this quickly.
Working with Centric Consulting’s team in India, Chamberlain oversaw the assembly of a full end-to-end offshore team of more than 40 people and led them to build a highly configurable mobile application design that connects to multiple client systems and enables quick rollouts to different geographies. The app simplifies ordering for the company’s global retailers while enhancing the B2B customer experience with features like rewards and special offers.
The team successfully launched the new app in multiple countries and has plans for its rollout in more than 10 countries this year.
“Bill’s guidance and contributions to this project were not only innovative due to the cutting-edge technology that transformed the client’s ordering process, but also how quickly he helped the India-based team scale from zero to 160 people in 10 months (faster than ever scaling before) to meet their needs,” his nomination form said. “This is one of the many examples of how Bill champions innovation by delivering creative tech solutions and collaborating with his team to do new things.”
Chamberlain credited his success to his network of connections that span diverse industries, including from school, former clients, and other areas of his life.
“I love working with clients across multiple industries and constantly learning from it,” he said. “The ability to work across different technologies and problems and apply new knowledge to help clients solve their problems makes my job fun and exciting.”
Joseph Ours was nominated for the AI Innovator award based on his strategic approach, innovative solutions, contributions to thought leadership, client success, and mentorship and collaboration. Ours routinely contributes to thought leadership publications and has helped many organizations improve efficiency, optimize processes, and drive business growth.
Recently, Ours was invited to address the 2024 National Leadership Conference for Chief Judges of US District and Bankruptcy Courts. He designed his presentation, “Navigating the AI Revolution: Safely and Effectively Leading Your Court into an AI-Powered Future,” to equip chief judges with knowledge and tools for integrating AI responsibly in their courts, including complex ethical considerations related to AI, such as bias, transparency and accountability.
“Artificial intelligence is not just a technological tool; it’s a strategic imperative for businesses that can drive efficiency gains, data-driven insights, and transformative solutions,” Ours said. “I’m excited to be at the forefront of AI as it continues to help make businesses and humans operate at their maximum potential and speeds up thoughtful innovation worldwide.”
More About the Honorees
Bill Chamberlain
Bill Chamberlain is our Chicago team Director and Technology Practice Lead. In his role, he uses his more than 35 years of experience leading global application development, data and outsourcing projects.
Bill spent the first half of his career in the HR consulting and outsourcing space, building and deploying HR-related technology and systems for clients across the US. He led one of the first global intranet projects and helped set up and establish a team in Gurgaon, India, during this time.
He’s spent the second half of his career with Centric Consulting, where he started on the delivery side but now covers business development, account management, and leading the Chicago team.
Joseph Ours
Joseph Ours is a technology futurist passionate about bringing innovation and digital transformation to his clients with speed and scale. He leads the Artificial Intelligence Consulting and Modern Software Delivery practices at Centric Consulting, bringing nearly three decades of experience in IT and management consulting across AI, automation, cloud platforms, DevOps, quality assurance, and agile development.
Recently, Joseph has focused on helping Fortune 500 companies develop AI solutions for process automation, personalized customer experiences, and value chain optimization through strategy, visioning and implementation.
Joseph regularly contributes to Forbes and InformationWeek, sharing the latest thinking on AI readiness, planning, and governance. He is a prominent speaker on AI, presenting at events nationwide with organizations such as the Risk Management and Insurance Society (RIMS), Project Management Institute (PMI), Society for Information Management (SIM), American Health Information Management Association AHIMA), InsureTech, and more.