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2024 Outstanding Women in Business
Outstanding Women in Business: A consultant and a comedian, Gray makes businesses better
Photo | Matt Wright
Cynthia Gray, owner of Gray's Analysis in Worcester
By Laura Finaldi
Cynthia Gray has always been drawn to entrepreneurship. Her father was a business owner, and her parents expected her to succeed. She started working at age 12 and attempts at entrepreneurship in her younger years included a silk-screening T-shirt business and a matchmaking service called the Write Date.
“I would get mail from people in prison, sent to my home address,” she said. “My dad would say ‘Why are we getting all these letters from prison?’ and I said, ‘I’m trying to start this matching thing.’”
Although her matchmaking service didn’t exactly pan out, Gray eventually found a niche that worked well for her. She is the founder and owner of Gray’s Analysis, a business analytics company where she’s hired by firms in a variety of industries to solve complex operational problems.
“People flock to her, and people are willing to listen to her because of her expertise. She’s willing to work through scenarios and situations so everyone is happy and gets what they want at the end of the day,” said Jennifer Jumper, who hired Gray as a consultant for Cambridge life sciences firm Biogen. “I know that when I hire her, she will come in, take control, she will lead and get stuff done.”
For the past 15 years, Gray has worked frequently with the life sciences industry, getting a front-row seat to life-altering drugs.
Working with big businesses like CVS and Motorola wasn’t always the goal, however. When Gray started business school, her ultimate aim was to start a nonprofit.
“I never intended to work in the corporate world because I didn't believe in the values. I thought they would fire you if you didn't show up once or twice, or if you were late,” she said. “But then I had a professor who said, ‘Cynthia, we have to put you out of your comfort zone to work at an insurance company. You can help companies do better and treat their employees better.’ So I graduated and had tons of offers, and that was when it all started. I realized I had this niche in helping companies improve.”
Gray’s work is based in Six Sigma and lean manufacturing. She goes in, figures out what’s holding companies back from operating at their full potential, and fixes it. She’s well-known enough in the industry where contracts come to her, she said, and she has to turn down work. Her reputation helps her after she’s been hired, Gray said.
“When these vendors see me in there, they know to bring their A game cause they know I know not only the tech aspect, but the business aspect,” she said.
Gray’s knowledge of both the business and technology sides of life sciences makes her a valuable asset when it comes to deploying systems, Jumper said. She’s a great listener, and her big personality and competence make people want to follow her.
Outside of work, Gray is a standup comedian. She got into the comedy world seven years ago, and it’s become such a big part of her life that it’s a separate business at this point. Gray said she started comedy because she needed a hobby. She’s organized and performed at charity fundraisers, including at the Worcester JCC and for breast cancer awareness.
Gray was young when she moved to Worcester, and at first, she felt like a fish out of water because her bubbly personality was met with New England gruffness. But Worcester has grown on her, and she’s grown on Worcester, she said.
“It’s been such a gem here, and I raised my kids here. People are starting to realize how great Worcester is, and I don't like it because now it’s crowded in Target,” she said. “But now people who graduate from college and are getting their master’s, now they’re staying, and that was always the problem. People don't stay, but now they are.”
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