Awesome on #9. Super cool. Do you think you could try two things?
1) Take the M from #8 and add that to #9. That might get it for me. 2) Can you see Entry #3? Could you explore the vertical line thing? Maybe: M | M Global Consulting Then see what bolding some parts of the grey text would look like, as in Entry #7.
I really like #8 too, but I think am naturally drawn to the ones that look like they are "one line" - or thin. (Sorry, I would show you, but this is so hard coming up with descriptions!)
I know it's last minute, but I submitted a few more options - #118 is a revision of #8 in the same horizontal format as #18, the second one (#119) is more dimensional, and the third one (#120) is just a basic two-color version in medium blue (Pantone 2935) and dark gray (Cool Gray 10). You should still be able to communicate with me when the contest ends, so I can keep submitting revised versions if you want to change the colors or format or anything. Thanks! Tara