Roland Berger or Monitor Deloitte?

Question

Hello,

I have graduated in Switzerland @HSG two years ago and gathered some expericences in pharma corporate strategy departments.

After two years I would like to experience something else; and would like to dig deeper around topics like digital health, innovation, strategy, etc.

I am currently located in Switzerland, and want to stay for two more years, but in the future I could imagine to move to either Dubai or APAC (Singapore, Bangkok) to internationalize myself.

My goal is to end up in an innovation department of big pharma or pursue my career in an entrepreneurial setting.

Which firm would you recommend based on industry focus, international setting (Switzerland now, Dubai or APAC later) and overall prestige?

These are the only offers I have end up with

Best,

Answer 1

Which firm would you recommend based on industry focus, international setting (Dubai or APAC) and overall prestige?

The one that hires you

=================================

Why the sarcastic answer? Because you're choosing a firm before they've chosen you! You don't get to choose…they choose you.

Therefore, you need to apply to dozens and dozens of firms. Network a ton to see which firms/roles works for you. You need to follow the flow here.

COMPANY OPTIONS

Consulting

McKinsey & Company
Strategy&
BCG
Etc.

Pharma/Healthcare

Pfizer
AstraZeneca
GlaxoSmithKline
Bayer
Etc.

Healthcare/Tech Startups

Babylon Health
Omada Health
Nurx
Etc.

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Answer 2

Hi there,

congrats on your offers. The RB presence in your specified areas (Switzerland, UAE (Middle East), Singapore) is fine and at no major disadvantage compared to Monitor.

However, while RB does have a Pharma and Healthcare area, they are not very large and often just revolve around due diligence work. For years they have been saying that they want to grow these areas but based on what I have seen, it hasn't taken off yet. I don't know how well Monitor is positioned in this area - that is something you should definitely further research.

I would say Roland Berger is highly competitive with other big name consulting firms (in terms of reputation, international coverage and high profile clients) in the areas of general strategy, all things automotive and business transformation & restructuring. As for the rest, they are Tier 2.

Then again, many Monitor people end up switching to Roland Berger during their careers and RB people move to Monitor - there is no clear winner as in one is “better” than the other in terms of employee movement. It depends on individual factors.

You also need to consider whose people/culture you liked more during the interview process.

Hope that helps.

Best of luck

Answer 3

Hi there,

Q: Which firm would you recommend based on industry focus, international setting, and overall prestige?

For prestige, you can check an analysis of the top consulting companies below:

▶ Top 15 Consulting Firms by Revenues and Prestige

In general, to decide between offers I would consider the following:

Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? Try to identify the company that can help you to achieve that goal faster. You can check LinkedIn for that (see below).
If you consider the average person you talked to in each company, which one would you rather be? You will spend a lot of time with your colleagues in the next years - be sure you choose a company where the people are close to the person you want to become.
If money and prestige were not a consideration, which company would you choose? This could help you to identify additional elements to weigh you have not considered yet.

In terms of future exits, you can check them as follows:

Look for alumni of the two companies on LinkedIn.
Check how many moved to your preferred exits in your target region.
Normalize for the size of the companies in the region.

If you want to do extra due diligence, you can contact Alumni of your university (not current consultants) who worked for the possible alternatives (bonus if they worked for both). Most likely, you will learn more in a 30-minute call with them than with any online research you might do.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 4

Hi there,

Congrats on the offers!

I would argue that Monitor is larger and has a higher reach, especially outside of Europe compared to RB. At the same time, I don't have heard great things about the work-life balance and general situation at RB.

The best for you would be two things:

1. Reach out or find contacts in the respective firms and markets you are interested in and talk to them

2. Research profiles of people in the relevant markets via LinkedIn and see where there are more who have made it to your desired long-term positions and goals

All the best,

Florian

Answer 5

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

I would highly advise you to opt for the option that better aligns with your professional (and maybe even personal) mid- to long-term goals. In order to make an informed decision, I would advise you to do the following:

Weigh the different criteria that are meaningful to you independently of the current options (e.g., prestige, industry focus, international exposure, culture, compensation). After that, score the two options based on your criteria and their weighting, resulting in two scores. This way, you have covered the left-brain perspective.
Critically assess your initial reaction to the outcome of the scores. For instance, if you feel the urge to tweak the numbers, this is a solid indicator that you do not want this decision to become reality. This way, you have covered the right-brain perspective.
By doing so, you will be able to integrate both parts of the brain into the decision-making, guaranteeing a higher chance that you will still be happy with it years later.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 6

If I were you I'd speak directly with consultants who are in those offices from each firm and who work within your topic area.

They're going to give you the most reliable, up to date answer.

Here's how you can find them:

Expert Guide: How To Get Referrals Via LinkedIn?

Outside-in, RB is more associated with strategy work so it can be perceived as having a stronger brand - which is something you might want to consider.

Best,

Cristian

Answer 7

Roland Berger is very strong in Switzerland, and has a good presence in Dubai and Singapore.

But you seem to have a focus on Pharma, which means that you need to do your due diligence and understand what you are being hired to. It's irrelevant that X company is stronger in Pharma if you go there and are assigned to the automotive team…

In general I would suggest Roland Berger, as it is a better brand, more strategic, better training, and probably more flexibility to change sector. But… do your due diligence.