When BearingPoint went public in 2001, it did so without its European partners. And so when the public company was broken up into pieces and sold off following its bankruptcy last year, the European partners were largely unaffected. There was one exception: They no longer had a U.S. footprint. After a lengthy search, BearingPoint's European partners recently formed an exclusive alliance with West Monroe Partners, a fast-growing 300-person Chicago-based firm. To better understand the ramifications of the deal, Consulting's One-on-One sat down with Dean Fischer, West Monroe's CEO. Consulting: Of all of the U.S. consulting firms out there, how did BearingPoint's European partners find you?
Fischer: In trying to determine how they were going to rebuild their capabilities in the U.S., they set out with a list of about 70 firms that they thought might make a good fit. They went through an extensive due diligence period. While we're very different sizes, we quickly discovered that there are tremendous cultural similarities in the way we go to market, treat our people, treat our clients, etc.
And the more we talked, the more we realized how much we had in common. I had a long-standing relationship with several of their leaders. BeaingPoint's French practice leader and the Nordic practice leader were both partners with me at Andersen. And so one of the reasons we approach the market similarly is that we were raised by the same people. And it engrained in us the same principals.
To continue reading, become an ALM digital reader
Benefits include:
- Authoritative and broad coverage of the business of consulting
- Industry-leading awards programs like Best Firms to Work For, Global Leades and Rising Stars
- An informative newsletter that goes into the trends shaping the industry
- Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
