Jennifer Ayres
Jennifer (Cahill) Ayres is the CEO of Senscient, a women-owned culture and change consulting firm that helps purpose-driven companies navigate complex transformations, align leadership, and unlock people-powered performance. With over 25 years in consulting and international business, Jennifer has worked across North America, Japan, and France, supporting Fortune 500 executives, private equity-backed firms, and fast-scaling innovators. She specializes in organizational transformation, change leadership, culture shaping, AI-enabled growth, and executive coaching, embedding with client teams to bring strategy to life through inspired, aligned people.
Jennifer’s career began with international business studies at the University of Scranton, where she earned her B.A. in International Language Business & Economics with honors. She continued postgraduate work as a Fulbright Scholar at Kyoto Sangyo University, focusing on global business and women’s leadership. Early in her consulting career, she held executive-facing roles at Accenture and North Highland, where she led large-scale change initiatives, talent management programs, and enterprise-wide transformations, gaining experience across industries including healthcare, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods.
At Senscient, Jennifer leads with a philosophy of values-driven leadership: Live to love, live to give, and live to learn. She emphasizes the importance of curiosity, empathy, gratitude, resilience, and enthusiasm in creating sustainable organizational change. Recognized for her impact in the industry, she has received the Healthcare Business Women’s Rising Star Award and continues to mentor and empower leaders, particularly women, to drive meaningful change, foster high-performing cultures, and unlock the potential of their people.
• Kyoto Sangyo University
• University of Scranton- B.A.
• Centre d'Etudes Francaises- B.A.
• Fulbright Scholarship - Japan
• Healthcare Business Women's Rising Star Award
• Graduated with honors from University of Scranton
• Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP)
• Protege Group
• WBENC (Women's Business Enterprise National Council)
• Healthcare Business Women's Association (HBA)
• Kennett Symphony
• Conservation of land in Willistown
What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute my success to individuals along my life's journey who saw potential in me before I saw it myself. These mentors and supporters believed in my strengths and abilities before I fully recognized them in myself, and that made all the difference in my career.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't hide your light under a bushel. If you have an opinion and you come into a room, make sure you speak your voice and make sure they hear your voice. This advice has been instrumental in helping me ensure that my perspective is valued and heard in professional settings.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
As a smaller business, and this is probably felt by a number of women leaders that have smaller businesses that are growing, the greatest challenge is learning how to best direct your time and energy and effort, and empower others to be able to take ownership of tasks and activities so that collectively the company can grow. I think the greatest challenge is being able to first identify where is the best place for you as the CEO to be spending your time and energy and effort, and then how can you empower those around you and activate those resources to support you and enhance support for everybody, so that the tide rises for all.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Our company has three core values: Live to love, live to give, and live to learn. The behaviors and values that live underneath them are curiosity, empathy, gratitude, appreciation, resilience, and enthusiasm. These values guide both my work and personal life.