Do all Consultants have to be ancient?

When you are a consultant you are the expert in your chosen field weather that is IT, Marketing, Management etc. You have the ability to have a deeper understanding of your problem and can recommend workable solutions for the business. 

 One thing I have noticed recently is that a lot of consultants...are pretty old! Ok call me ageist if you want but they are usually 40-50's and although that makes complete sense they have the experience of working up to senior levels in various organisations in both size and industry...is it a compulsory requirement for a consultant?  With the pace of change at an all time high for organisations and marketers - wouldn't you be better placed taking on a consultant that is more in touch with the shop floor (so to speak). 

We recently had a "consultant" in who had worked for our organisation and only our organisation for 15 years...what makes this person best placed to call themselves a consultant? Surely you have to have more experience than just working for one sector and company to be called an expert.

It seems lately the word consultant is thrown around far too easily - however I suppose it all comes down to what your end goal is for hiring the consultant - are you looking for strategic direction, process changes or project delivery?

So I throw this back to anyone willing to contribute..What would  you look for when hiring a consultant?