Stax Recognized by Consulting Magazine for Mentorship and Enrichment Program

Grant Thornton Stax was recently honored by Consulting Magazine at the Rising Star Awards in Chicago for its innovative approach to talent development. Vegas Rath, Head of Professional Development, accepted the award on behalf of the firm and was recognized for leading the launch of Stax’s Task Relevance Maturity (TRM) framework.

At Grant Thornton Stax, the foundation of our growth has long been built on a strong culture of apprenticeship and internal leadership development. As the firm continues to scale globally, we are evolving this model to meet the needs of a more dynamic, distributed workforce. Central to this evolution is our TRM framework—a key enabler of professional growth and performance at scale.

The TRM program supports this next chapter by clearly defining success at every level, aligning expectations across the organization, and providing employees with the tools and feedback they need to thrive. By updating job descriptions, competency models, and performance incentives, TRM fosters a culture of clarity, accountability, and growth—while reinforcing Grant Thornton Stax’s commitment to trust, psychological safety, and ongoing development.

This framework ensures that as we grow, we continue to empower our people—enabling them to step into expanded roles, deliver high-impact work, and grow their careers in meaningful ways.

Below is the acceptance speech delivered by Vegas at the recent awards:

“Thank you, Mike, and Consulting Magazine for acknowledging the impactful people development work happening in our industry.

As a talent professional, I’ve always loved working in professional services, because this is an industry where talent truly means everything.

At Grant Thornton Stax, we created the TRM program because we needed something more concrete and actionable than a traditional competency model.

Our people were asking:

• What exactly do I need to do to be promoted?
• Does “good work” mean the same thing for everyone?

These are important questions. And the TRM program helps answer them. This clarity not only guides performance expectations—it also enables targeted developmental support and actionable feedback. And that, in turn, boosts engagement, motivation, and ultimately, performance.

Thank you again for this honor. Thank you Grant Thornton Stax for giving me such a great platform! And congratulations to my fellow honorees— I’m grateful to be recognized alongside you tonight."