Aimee Gilbreath, President, PetSmart Charities (Principal, LOS, 2002-2008)
Your early career at BCG gave you a front-row seat to high-impact strategic initiatives. What lessons from consulting have most influenced the way you now lead teams and organizations with deeply human missions?
BCG gave me a foundation I still draw on every day: learning new topics quickly, applying structured frameworks to messy problems, and moving comfortably between long-term strategy and the tactical steps that make the work real. I also learned the power of using data to see beyond anecdotes and the importance of telling a clear story, so people understand both the direction and the why behind it.
But the lessons that stayed with me most were human ones. I vividly remember a moment during my summer internship when I insisted that I had the correct directions to the client site. I did not, and made the partner riding with me late to a meeting. That was a humbling moment. It was an early reminder that consulting is a team sport, that expertise matters more than ego, and that relationships can strengthen or derail the best strategy.
Those experiences shaped how I lead today. I care deeply about clarity, humility, and communication. I am grateful for my early career at BCG. It helped me become the kind of leader who can work through ambiguity while keeping people at the center of the mission.
I care deeply about clarity, humility, and communication. I am grateful for my early career at BCG. It helped me become the kind of leader who can work through ambiguity while keeping people at the center of the mission.
You’ve led at the intersection of philanthropy, corporate strategy, and animal welfare. How has bridging these worlds shaped your view of what strategic giving can achieve when compassion is paired with data and design thinking?
Philanthropy always operates with constrained resources. The needs are larger than the dollars available, which makes strategy essential. You must understand where your resources, partnerships, and unique assets can have the greatest impact. For me, that begins with data. Data points you toward the most urgent gaps and shows you where a systems-level solution is possible.
My own shift toward animal welfare began when I adopted a dog while working at BCG. I realized how many pets were needlessly dying in shelters and realized I wanted a life where I could be home in time to walk my own dog. Over the course of a couple years, those two insights opened me to leaving consulting—even though moving from partner track at BCG to leading an animal welfare startup is not the kind of career transition that reassures friends and family. That transition introduced me to the power of pairing compassion with business discipline.
One of the best examples of that integration today is how we view the PetSmart store network as an asset in our philanthropic strategy. With nearly 1,700 stores, tens of thousands of associates, and millions of customers, embedding adoption and community programs into the retail ecosystem creates far greater impact than philanthropy could achieve alone. Today, PetSmart Charities invests more than $50 million annually in communities, and our in-store adoption program helps more than 400,000 pets find homes each year. That scale changes what’s possible when compassion is paired with data and design thinking.
Looking back across your journey from BCG to founding ventures to leading PetSmart Charities, what leadership principles have stayed constant, and how have they evolved as you moved from strategy to stewardship?
One constant has been the need for a clear, approachable strategy. Whether I was creating client recommendations at BCG, building Leap Venture Studio, or leading PetSmart Charities, clarity has always mattered. So does the ability to communicate the why behind decisions. I still sometimes joke that I bleed green because the structured approach I learned at BCG is so deeply ingrained.
What has evolved most is my relationship with risk. In corporate strategy, you take measured risks with significant resources. In venture, you take bets knowing many will not work. In philanthropy, the responsibility is different. These are donor dollars entrusted to us to improve lives. You take risk, but it must be grounded in stewardship, accountability, and transparency.
When I joined PetSmart Charities, the organization had seen nine leaders in ten years. The most important first step was giving the team clarity and stability. We worked together on a strategic refinement that recognized our relationship with PetSmart as a powerful asset. That process helped reestablish a shared sense of purpose, which is the foundation for everything that has come since.
You’ve described strategic philanthropy as connecting compassion with data and collaboration. What does that look like in practice, and how do you balance emotional storytelling with measurable outcomes?
Our work in veterinary care shows how these elements come together. We identified a more than $20 billion annual gap between what pets need and what families can afford. From that insight, we built a grant-making portfolio focused on expanding access to care.
A key part of that work is supporting nonprofit community clinics not only with funding but also with coaching and a community of practice to help them achieve long-term sustainability. We track more than 30 metrics from each clinic every month. With more than 40 clinics in the network, we can see operational and financial trends across the system and help leaders refine their models. Our grantees are on their way to providing one million client visits per year, and we are incredibly proud of that impact.
But data alone does not capture the heart of the work. On the first day one of our partner clinics opened, a man arrived with his injured dog. He had been turned away by multiple clinics because he could not pay. Some offered euthanasia as the only option. He refused to give up and spent hours calling and driving around looking for help. He finally found a clinic that was able to amputate the dog’s severely infected leg. She survived, and they are still together today. I cannot tell that story without crying. It is a reminder that behind every data point is a family, a bond, and a moment of hope.
We measure outcomes rigorously because it helps us scale solutions. But we tell stories because they reflect why the work matters.
You’ve built one of North America’s largest animal welfare funders around the idea that pets are family. In an era of social fragmentation, how do you see the human animal bond fostering empathy and community across divides?
Pets are a nearly universal source of connection, and I feel their impact and importance are underappreciated. In a time when society can feel divided, pets create a safe, joyful entry point for human connection. You can sit next to a stranger on a plane and be sharing pet photos within minutes, regardless of background, politics, or worldview.
That shared love of animals opens doors. It bridges divides across geography, culture, and socioeconomic lines. It also helps organizations build trust with people who might not otherwise engage in services. Many families will seek help with housing or health programs because those programs recognize their pets as part of the family.
From a business perspective, companies often leave value on the table by not including pets in their offerings. Two thirds of households have a pet, and more households have a pet than a child under 18. From a community perspective, public spaces, housing, and transportation all become stronger and more vibrant when they acknowledge that pets are part of family life. Integrating pets into systems that support people is not just compassionate, it is strategic.
You’ve shown that business and philanthropy can reinforce each other rather than operate in silos. How can the next generation of leaders, especially those from consulting backgrounds, bring this systems thinking mindset to social impact?
The social impact sector needs leaders who can listen deeply, build relationships, and lead with compassion, while also applying rigorous strategic thinking. I always emphasize that nonprofit is a tax status, not a business model. The sector needs leaders who can run a P&L, motivate teams, communicate with clarity, and design solutions that scale.
My own entrepreneurial experience is part of why I believe this. When we launched Leap Venture Studio, we saw a gap in support for early-stage pet care startups. We also knew we would have greater impact if we partnered, so we joined forces with Mars Petcare and built the first accelerator of its kind in the pet industry. Since then, Leap has supported dozens of startups, catalyzed investment in a previously overlooked sector, and helped bring innovative products and services to market. That work reinforced for me that collaboration across sectors can unlock new channels of impact.
Looking ahead, leaders with consulting foundations can make a meaningful difference by helping organizations operate with both heart and discipline. In a K-shaped recovery, businesses must think about how financial performance and community well-being can reinforce each other. And philanthropists, especially those working at scale, must design programs that make measurable, lasting change. Systems thinking is no longer optional, it is the path forward.
