What Are the Best Management Consulting Firms After MBB?

Hi there,

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

• First of all, I would highly advise you not to fall for the prestige fallacy, as this is really not an important (if meaningful) criterion for choosing your potential future employer. If you still want to explore more consulting firms, please take a look at the Vault Consulting Rankings.
• Moreover, there are no universally better or worse offices either, although you do need to make sure that you meet the basic requirements given your background.
• Lastly, while I understand that you want to work for the most prestigious consulting firm in the best office with the best professional development and the highest salary, which will also provide you with the best exit opportunities to the VC industry, I would highly advise you to take it one step at a time. Also, many of the aspects mentioned are a combination of pure luck and your personal commitment to them.

You can find more on this topic here: Boutique consulting companies.

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

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

Interesting questions. Let's tackle them one by one.

1. What Are the Best Management Consulting Firms After MBB: 
   You have two buckets here: 

   Big Four: Also, generalists are good quality, but not MBB. The main difference with MBB is that the Big Four in the USA, Canada, and Mexico compete directly with MBB in clients and strategic projects. However, in other geographies, they don't in other geographies because they do not share capabilities, experts, knowledge, etc. 

   Niche firms: I would catalogue here companies such as: Simon Kutcher, Roland Berger, Kearney, Alix Partners, Alvarez Marsal, etc. They have specific capabilities such as analytics, Turnarounds, supply chains, or geolocations such as Europe or the US. Depending on what you are looking for, the ranking changes. 

   There are many rankings, but none of them will give you the same outcome based on the information above.

2. Which offices of these firms are the most important (apart from the US)?

   Again, it depends on what you are looking for. A proxy will always be the "industry hub." For example, SF is the tech hub, LA is the entertainment Hub, etc.

3. Which offices should I target based on my background? I'm Italian, speak English (C1), French and Spanish (B1). Is it realistic to apply directly to top offices in the US, or are there better alternatives in Europe or elsewhere?

   Currently, it is better to think where you can work without a Visa sponsorship. If the EU is the answer, I would look for offices where you can leverage your language and where there is more affinity with the industry or capability you want to specialize in in the long term.

4. Where do consultants grow and learn the fastest in terms of exposure, skill development, and career progression?

   This usually happens in fast-growing offices in MBB. I can´t generalize for other consulting firms. 

5. Which firms pay the best?

   Salaries are adjusted for each office. I suggest using Glassdoor to find more data. 

6. Which of these firms have a strong track record of consultants moving into top Venture Capital funds?

   Again, here, it depends on different factors such as industry expertise (financial services, e-commerce) or capability expertise (eg. AI, Supply Chain) and financial background or PE experience. I have not seen any specific data or publication with this information.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you want to chat.

Best,

Carlos

Hi there,

1. The hierarchy and prestige of consulting firms are loosely based on MBB, Tier-2, Tier-3, Big 4 + Accenture, boutique firms, and in-house consulting. You can look for firms within each tier, though there are overlaps, and this classification isn’t gospel.
2. Securing a role may be unrealistic due to visa sponsorship challenges. Your best opportunities would likely be in Italy or the Middle East, depending on your overall profile and CV.
3. See my response to q1.
4. Compensation varies by region - sometimes Tier-2 firms pay more than Tier-1 because they struggle to attract the candidates they truly want.
5. See my response to q1.

Cheers,

Florian
 

Hi there, 

below my thougths: 

1. Oliver Wyman, Strategy&, Roland Berger (selected regions) are good picks when it comes to general strategy consulting. Of course you also have the big 4 which are much larger and give you the option to also go into audit or financial services work but are generally a bit more implementation focused. 

2. Applying for US offices if you are a non-US citizen without currently studying there or having a work permit will be close to impossible in my view. Germany is another very big consulting hub but will not be an option due to language barrier. A lot of people from Italy also opt for the Middle East (fully English based and great compensation). Business has slowed down a bit but they are still hiring over there. 

Best, 
Sebastian

Your questions are quite broad, and you can find most of the information by yourself... but let me give it a try

1. Either very relevant cities (from the business point of view) or those that act as "hubs" to a region. London, Paris, Dubai, Singapore, Beijing, ...

2. Italy. You should only apply to the US if you already have work authorization. 

3. No relevant differences. Just avoid very small offices. Middle East focuses a lot on implementation projects... this is also something I would consider.

4. Check glassdoor. MBB will pay the most. Then you have Roland Berger and Oliver Wyman as strong Tier 2.

5. None. Venture Capital funds will very rarely recruit former consultants. It is very a different skill set.