One on One

One on One with SSA's David Niles

Half of all consultants plan to leave their current firm within the next four years, according to a survey of nearly 10,000 consultants conducted by And, according to the same poll, three out of four consultants say that when they leave their current employer, they do not plan to work for another consultancy. Given the anticipated exodus of consulting talent from consulting firms into industry, the more successful firms may be those that can reverse that talent drain by attracting professionals out of industry and into consulting. Consulting One-on-One sat down with the leader of one such firm: David Niles, president of SSA & Co. His 70-person operations management firm, formerly known as Six Sigma Academy, has been turning industry experts into consultants for 15 years.

Jess Scheer | October 02, 2009

David Niles Half of all consultants plan to leave their current firm within the next four years, according to a survey of nearly 10,000 consultants conducted by Consulting . And, according to the same poll, three out of four consultants say that when they leave their current employer, they do not plan to work for another consultancy. Given the anticipated exodus of consulting talent from consulting firms into industry, the more successful firms may be those that can reverse that talent drain by attracting professionals out of industry and into consulting. Consulting One-on-One sat down with the leader of one such firm: David Niles, president of SSA & Co. His 70-person operations management firm, formerly known as Six Sigma Academy, has been turning industry experts into consultants for 15 years.

Consulting: Most consulting firms are led by veteran consultants who oversee teams of more junior consultants. What's different about SSA?

Niles: Our chairman, Dave Fuente, is the former chairman and CEO of Office Depot. And our CEO, Scott Miller, was previously CEO of Hyatt Hotels. Most of our people come from industry. And we believe that gives us a unique understanding of the CEO mindset.

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