Last week, we saw the revival of the Davos summit after a two-year long-standstill. The annual congregation of political and business leaders from around the world covered several key topics, from discussions on the economic viability of sanctions, to sustainable business, mental health in the workplace, and beyond.
In any case, an innovative agenda filled with relevant issues demanded a suitable audience, including several business leaders from consulting. Carmine Di Sibio, EY’s Global Chairman and CEO, Christoph Schweizer, BCG’s CEO, as well as other representatives from top-tier firms made significant appearances at various panels throughout the week. Many of our clients attended and contributed to fruitful conversations about how the WEF’s agenda will impact hiring strategies and sustainable growth for them across sectors and geographies.
On that note, we see plenty of appointments and moves at the most senior levels this month, both in Strategy Consulting and Industry. Tactical acquisitions also serve to expand some of the biggest professional services firms geographically and functionally in their target markets.
People Moves
BCG veteran Lars Faeste joins FTI Consulting as Chairman of the EMEA region, leading 2000+ employees in 14 countries.
Roel de Vries moves to Alvarez & Marsal, bringing with him a wealth of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions in Real Estate and Financial Services, as well as expertise in tax-related topics.
BCG welcomes Dr. Max Joachim Nitsche as a Partner in the Payments Consulting team in Frankfurt. With a strong background in Strategy, M&A and Risk Management in payments, Dr. Nitsche is well-poised to make an impact in the new role.
Jess Huang leaves McKinsey to join Google as a Managing Director in Strategy & Operations within Google Customer Solutions.
Marielle Fernainé joins EY France as a Partner within the Financial Services team. The move comes after almost a decade of working on Risk and Regulation topics as well as AI and Data Strategy at PwC.
Jan Rabe joins Roland Berger as a Senior Partner with a specialism in infrastructure and sustainability. His track record in various leadership roles at Siemens positions him well for the move.
Arma Partners, a Financial Advisory boutique, appoints Daniel Fugmann, Ilgit Beygo, Eike Marx and Shajeed Surani as Managing Directors, and Andrew Wheatley and Bruno Nehme as Partners.
Atif Zaim has become the national Managing Partner for Advisory in KPMG in the USA, after a 25-year career at the firm.
Nicola Nicol has been appointed as Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group in their Digital Risk and Cybersecurity business for Australia and New Zealand. She was a Partner at PwC for almost four years prior to joining.
Barbara François joins EY Law Belgium as Executive Director along with Marie-Emilie Truyens to establish an Employment Law practice based in the Ghent.
Alon Carmel, an Expert in Offshore Wind, joins PA Consulting as a Partner within their Energy and Utilities team in London.
Mona Vitar takes on the leadership role of UKI Vice Chair at EY. Mona was formerly a Partner, with a specialism in Consumer Products and Retail.
Bjoern Velden joins Alvarez & Marsal as a Senior Director in operational restructuring for the Industrial and Energy sectors.
International consulting firm Genioo strengthens its leadership team with CFO Oliver Treyer in Zug and Head of Commercial Europe Elizabeth Fisher in London.
Bruno Despujol, a Partner in Oliver Wyman’s Paris office with a focus on Transformation and Performance Improvement services, has taken a leadership position as the Global Head of the Services Practice.
John Scerbo joins Alvarez & Marsal as a Managing Director within its Private Equity and Performance Improvement practice.
BDO has added three new Partners to its London office: Matthew Paul Clark, Timothy Golby and Emma Jarvis.
Noor Adhami has been appointed Global Head of International Subsidiary Banking at HSBC. Noor brings 22 years of banking experience to the role, having spent the last 18 years with HSBC.
Jacob Palmer has rejoined BCG as a Partner in their Insurance practice in London. Jacob was formerly a Principal at BCG in 2020, before moving to CyberCube and then Swiss Re.
Thierry Miremont, a former Partner at McKinsey, joins FTI Consulting’s leadership team in Paris as a Senior Director in Corporate Finance & Restructuring and Head of France.
RSM appoints Nicola McCoy as Global Chief Information Security Officer in their London office. She will be responsible for the implementation of RSM’s international information security strategy.
Falco Weidemeyer, a Senior Partner at EY-Parthenon, has been made Global Head of Turnaround and Restructuring, as well as Head of EY-Parthenon EMEIA.
Pinar Abay becomes Chair of the ING Belgium Board of Directors. This also makes Pinar the first woman to lead the Board in the bank’s 150-year history.
Al Adebayo becomes a Partner in KPMG’s ENR Operations team.
After a 2 year stint with Lufthansa, Patrick Staudacher rejoins Boston Consulting Group as CFO for Europe, Middle East, South America & Africa (EMESA).
Barend van Bergen moves back to the Netherlands to join EY-Parthenon as a Partner in Sustainability and ESG.
Mary Shelton Rose joins PwC as a Partner and the UK Leader of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications.
EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCAS) in the US adds two new members to its team: Managing Director Tripp Borstel and Principal John Hodges.
Pedro Perez Iruela becomes EY’s Financial Services Leader for Spain, leading a team of over a thousand people.
Michael Leeds, a former Partner at Grant Thornton, joins Interpath Advisory as Managing Director.
Finn Ruthenberg rejoins BCG to lead the BCG GAMMA team in Brussels as Managing Director, to focus on AI and data topics.
Chan Yoo has been named Managing Director of Alvarez & Marsal’s Seoul office. He carries with him extensive experience in transformation and manufacturing across multiple sectors.
Société Générale announced that current CEO Frédéric Oudéa, their Group Chief Executive Officer since 2008, will be stepping down. The group are accordingly looking for a new CEO and the process will be completed by 2023.
Igor Mikhalev joins EY-Parthenon as a Partner and Head of Emerging Tech Strategy, leaving a 4-year career working on emerging technologies and digital ecosystems at BCG.
Bain welcomes the arrival of Partner Safia Limousin into their Paris office. Having previously served as a Senior Partner and Global Leader in Power and Utilities at Kearney, Safia joins the Energy and Natural Resources practice at Bain.
Carl Raning becomes the new leader of Oliver Wyman’s Swedish and Nordics business. He follows longtime professional Sean Cory.
Oliver Wyman adds John Laurens as a Senior Advisor within its Corporate and Institutional banking practice. John brings with him a wealth of experience in Digital Banking and Digital Transformation.
Amit Rai is named the London Centre Lead at BCG Digital Ventures.
Deepak Ravindran leaves behind a 15 year career at BCG in the position of Senior Managing Director & Partner. He leaves a decorated career, having been an instrumental part of BCG’s Technology Practice.
Kaley Crossthwaite and Anna Draper, two Partners at BDO, are appointed to the Leadership team.
Peter Harmston and Ian Taylor join KPMG as Partners to bolster their Financial Services team.
Maggie Titmus has joined PA Consulting as a Senior Advisor.
Alastair Stewart and Emma Franklin join Deloitte in Yorkshire in the domains of Financial Services and Business Consulting.
Erik Flinck takes the lead of BCG’s Stockholm office as Managing Director and Senior Partner. Former Stockholm lead Thomas Møller Jensen moves to take on a Nordic-wide leadership role within BCG.
Market Intelligence
McKinsey has made QuantumBlack its official AI Consulting brand, bringing together 100+ offices worldwide.
EY has kickstarted the Big 4 move into splitting the Audit and Advisory capabilities to negate the conflict of interest. The results of this move will be indicative of what’s to come for its competitor firms in the next few years.
The healthcare and pharma boutiques Vintura and CEPTON Strategies merge to form a new larger consultancy, comprised of 90 staff across four European markets.
Northern Sky Research, a strategy firm focused on the space sector, has been acquired by Analysys Mason.
McKinsey acquires S4G consulting, a top Salesforce Platinum Partner in Madrid focused on implementing and developing Salesforce solutions.
Pai Partners has agreed to acquire HKA, a consultancy in risk mitigation and dispute resolution focused on Expert, Advisory and Claims services for the infrastructure and capital projects sectors.
KPMG and Acceleris Capital join forces to launch a new Venture Capital and fundraising advisory business dedicated to entrepreneurs across the world in Technology, Life Sciences and ESG.
KPMG sets out a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2030, along with furthering its Diversity and Inclusion agenda.
PwC launches a new $2.4Bn people and culture initiative, My+, to assist its staff to work flexibly and make their career more personalisable. The highly anticipated investment comes after strong demand from personnel.
Kroll partners with cybersecurity firm Armis to strengthen its cyber preparedness and response capabilities.
Supermarket chain Morrisons has agreed to salvage troubled convenience store business McColl’s in an acquisition. Morrisons will buy McColl’s in a pre-pack administration deal, in which McColl’s will be acquired after it has entered insolvency proceedings, overseen by PwC.
KPMG readies itself to bolster its legal capabilities, with a view to doubling its legal arm in the coming two years.
RSM UK’s management team has purchased the remaining shares from 215 retired shareholders, allowing ex-Partners to realize their stake in the firm.
Bain & Company declares up to 26 weeks of paid leave for any new parent in their US offices in an effort to support parents in business.
Oliver Wyman opens a new office in Vienna to mark its entry into the Austrian market.
Accuracy helps to facilitate the sale of the football team Red Star, assisting with the buy-side financial due diligence in the transfer.
Eight Advisory expands its capabilities, acquiring FRP Advisory, a leading national business advisory firm in the domain of Financial Services.
A group of firms, including Outer Temple Chambers, Asset Reality, Sandton Capital Partners, Grant Thornton, and Rahman Ravelli are joining forces to aid victims of cryptocurrency fraud by extending their access to judicial services.
Two firms in the sustainability services space, including Avance Impact and Wolfs Company, have been acquired by Grant Thornton in the Netherlands.
Mukesh Ambani and the billionaire Issa brothers face off in the final contest for the acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance, a drugstore chain. Bidding has been extended, and the Issa brothers are currently favourites to make the acquisition.
In the midst of the Musk and Twitter situation, lead financial advisors JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are expected to receive due fees totalling $53m and $80m respectively. Success fees will be due upon merger completion.
Due to the recent selloff of tech stocks in the current economic environment, Apple has lost its position as the world’s most valuable company to Saudi Arabian oil producer and gas exporter Aramco, which last held the top spot almost two years ago.
An open data sharing platform in the water industry, formed by a consortium of players, is being supported by Sia Partners, having been awarded £880k in innovation funding.
Scott Logic, a software consultancy based in the UK, moves its HQ to Newcastle, building on strong demand.
Accenture launches their official collaboration with Spotify, Spotify for Work, allowing companies to offer the incentive “Spotify for Work”, giving employees a free premium subscription during their tenure.
Chappuis Halder & Co., a specialist Financial Services consultancy, has been acquired by Capgemini Invent, adding 150 consultants across six countries.
BearingPoint helps facilitate Leinster Rugby’s entry into the realm of the metaverse. The new development is an effort to provide immersive experiences for fans around the world.
The Big 4 seek to expand their capabilities in India as a hiring spree intensifies competition among them.
Bain & Company launches a novel Climate Program, a compulsory course on Sustainability topics, for all its consultants from the level of Associate to Partner within its Dutch and French teams.
Neotas, a due diligence start-up within the risk consulting space, partners with PwC to bolster its financial crime capabilities.
Transavia, a budget airline based in the Netherlands, partners with Cegeka to strengthen its Digital Transformation.
KKR & Co. sells C.H.I. Overhead Doors, generating $3 billion with the sale. As part of the buyout, non-salaried workers received equity as part of the transaction, meaning the average hourly worker from the company is receiving around $175k from the sale.
Société Générale declares the completion of the sale of Rosbank and the group’s Russian Insurance subsidiaries.
PwC acquires two firms in Germany, ID Consult GmbH and eilersconsulting GmbH, adding around 50 new consultants to its workforce.
Miccrosoft, IBM, and Salesforce have started up a knowledge sharing platform, in which their goal is to encourage responsible tech.
In 2021, PA Consulting saw its strongest revenue growth in over two decades (24%). The growth comes as the demand for consulting services has increased.
Air France-KLM plans to launch a new strategy transformation initiative, “New Horizon”, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group.
The UK Ministry of Defence enters into a 23-month contract with consulting firm CGI in an effort to strengthen geospatial intelligence capabilities.
Bain & Company enters into a partnership with Jupiter in an effort to strengthen climate and physical risk analytics capabilities for its Banking and Insurance clients.
KPMG turns to software company Blue J to add artificial intelligence in the interest of employee time and value.
The Innovation Agency Design Partners joins PA Consulting to complement and bolster its existing Design team.
In Germany, Accenture has acquired akzente, a sustainability-focused consultancy with 60 personnel.