Kearney – formerly known as A.T. Kearney – was the original split from McKinsey & Company, and comes with a storied and impressive history. Now known to be THE best sourcing, procurement, and operations consulting firm in the world, Kearney is impressive on multiple fronts. However, the firm’s acquisition and re-independence in the last 20 years – plus its notoriously nasty work-life imbalance – make it a great but challenging place to work.
KEY STATS
- Website: www.kearney.com
- U.S. Headquarters: Chicago, IL
- Employees: 5,600+ total employees
- Locations: 60 offices, 40+ countries
- Chief Executive: Alex Liu, Chairman and Managing Officer
- Revenue: $1.6B
- Consulting Engagement Cost: $400K
HISTORY
Kearney’s fascinating history begins with none other than current competitor McKinsey & Company. Founder Andrew Thomas Kearney was hired by James McKinsey as his firm’s first partner in 1929. McKinsey’s unexpected death in 1937 ultimately led to the firm’s division into two practices: McKinsey & Company and A.T. Kearney & Company.
AT Kearney opened its first international office in 1964, launching a fast-paced global expansion that peaked between 1985 and 1988. The firm was temporarily acquired by Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 1995 but was bought back by partners in 2006, just in time for the company’s 80th anniversary.
Here’s a timeline condensing the history of the firm:
- 1926 – McKinsey is established
- 1929 – Andrew Thomas Kearney joins McKinsey as its first partner
- 1935 – Tom Kearney becomes managing partner
- 1939 – The firm splits in two: McKinsey & Co. moves to New York and Boston, and McKinsey, Kearney & Co. remains in Chicago
- 1945 – Tom Kearney asked by President Franklin Roosevelt to head a mission to help the Chinese improve defense readiness efforts. Kearney received a U.S. Medal of Freedom and a Victory Medal from the Chinese government
- 1946 – McKinsey, Kearney & Co. adopts the name A.T. Kearney & Company
- 1962 – Tom Kearney dies January 11
- 1963 – A.T. Kearney & Company, Inc. incorporated in April; A.T. Kearney International, Inc., incorporated in July as a subsidiary
- 1964 – A.T. Kearney, G.m.b.H., established as first non‑U.S. office in Düsseldorf, led by Art Kelly
- 1972 – Firm’s name changed to A.T. Kearney, Inc.; First Asian office opens in Tokyo
- 1985 – 1988 – Biggest expansion in the history of the firm peaks with 20 of 26 offices enlarged, relocated or opened; offices open in Madrid and Munich. Named fifth-largest broad-based multidisciplined management consultancy in the U.S.; firm surpasses $100M in revenue
- 1989 – A.T. Kearney staff worldwide reaches 1,000 employees
- 1993 – Firm marks 10th straight year of double-digit growth
- 1995 – A.T. Kearney becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of EDS in September, nearly doubling in size and vastly expanding its industry expertise and information technology capabilities. Firm hires 2,000th employee.
- 1997 – First Global Prize, an annual business school case study competition for potential recruits, awarded
- 1997 – Offices open in New Delhi, Shanghai, and Jakarta; revenues top $1B
- 2005 – EDS CEO, Michael Jordan, confirmed rumors that EDS was seeking to sell A.T. Kearney back to its management team. More than 170 A.T. Kearney officers from 26 countries participated as investors (90% of those invited to participate did so).
- 2006 – A.T. Kearney completes management buyout from EDS and becomes an independent, privately owned firm
- 2006 – A.T. Kearney celebrates 80th anniversary
- 2012 – A.T. Kearney partners elect Johan Aurik to a three-year term as Managing Partner and Chairman of the Board
- 2018 – Alex Liu ascends to the Chairman and Managing Officer role
- 2020 – A.T. Kearney rebrands itself to “Kearney”
- 2023 – Kearney launches Regenerate
3 Reasons To Work For Kearney
KEARNEY CAREERS
Since its management buyout in 2006, Kearney has been restructuring itself with the goal of major expansion. The company’s vision is to compete with the top management consulting firms in the industry, and it has been scaling up through the acquisition of multiple boutique firms with that goal in mind.
Practice Areas
Kearney’s services are as follows:
1. Analytics
Kearney’s Analytics Practice combines world-class analytics capabilities with deep functional and industry expertise to help companies transform their businesses. With a team of more than 500 analytics consultants, data scientists, data engineers, and software engineers, Kearney has the ability to deliver leading-edge solutions. Specializing in analytics capabilities within operations and supply chain, consumer and retail, business transformations, and more, Kearney’s analytics capabilities continue to rapidly grow through strategic acquisitions.
2. Digital Business
Keeping up with the constantly evolving digital world can be tricky for companies – learning how to decipher the trends, keeping up with innovations and implementing it into their existing systems can be overwhelming. Kearney’s digital business service aims to help these companies stay at the top of their game in the digital world – separating hype from potential digital disruptors & developing specific digital strategies designed around the company’s capabilities.
3. Innovation
Understanding the essential need for innovation in companies, not only does Kearney help companies increase their profitability in their innovation cycle, but the firm works to help companies identify, track and grow their innovations – turning ideas into profitable entities. There are 4 capabilities to Kearney’s innovation practice: collaborative innovation, innovation portfolio management, innovation strategy and R&D performance strategy.
4. Marketing & Sales
Each company faces substantial challenges in the ever evolving face of marketing due to consumer trends and industry dynamics. Kearney aims to provide support for companies by helping them stay ahead of new market developments and positioning them to capture new opportunities. They work collaboratively with their clients to drive transformative change and profitable growth—while ensuring sustainable business success.
5. Mergers & Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions are significant undertakings that hold unlimited potential coupled with a high risk of failure. Kearney aims to provide expertise through strategy, integration (for mergers), due diligence and divestitures to companies that need to navigate this process ensuring it results in significant shareholder returns.
6. Operations
Kearney works collaboratively with companies to transform their operations in order to gain an unprecedented competitive advantage. They commit to going the nine yards with companies starting from strategy all the way to execution. Part of their commitment involves reducing costs, managing complexity and risks and improving supply chain performance.
7. Organization & Transformation
Kearney boasts about its Fit Transformation™ methodology, designed specifically to align companies’ strategy, operating model, and people to bring lasting transformation. Their focus is on: structure and governance, processes, technology enablement, resource configuration and capabilities and culture. Their stand out differentiator? Kearney believes they bring a balanced and holistic approach to the whole process.
8. Procurement
Kearney recognizes the importance of procurement as it increases in complexity and scale. Thus, they work towards creating or upgrading current purchasing processes to enhance efficiency and maximize savings.
9. Strategic IT
Kearney boasts about being the first global management consultancy to develop a strategic IT practice. Their capabilities cover 3 main areas: IT-Enabled Business Transformation, CIO Advisory Services and Advisory Services for IT Companies. Their aim is to help companies harness the wide reach and impact of technology to deliver business value.
10. Strategy
Kearney’s strategy consultants work side by side with top management to create robust plans and strategies that will not only enhance the current capabilities of the business but secure its’ future too. Working anywhere from the strategy related to the business unit to corporate finance and strategy to strategic foresight, Kearney’s strategic unit encompasses a wide variety of capabilities.
11. Sustainability
Business leaders have bold sustainability ambitions to achieve, but many are finding it challenging to fulfill them. Kearney’s sustainability team focuses on bridging this “execution gap”, guiding companies from strategy through execution. Kearney’s solutions embed regenerative business practices at the core of organizations, helping businesses drive value and growth while simultaneously creating positive change for the planet and society.
Industries
For a firm just 1/6th the size of McKinsey, Kearney has its hands in a wide collection of cookie jars. The company’s industry specialties are extensive and include:
- Aerospace and Defense
- Automotive
- Chemicals
- Communications
- Consumer and Retail
- Energy
- Financial Institutions
- Healthcare and Life Sciences
- Industrial Goods and Services
- Infrastructure
- Media
- Metals & Mining
- Oil & Gas
- Private Equity
- Public Sector
- Technology
- Transportation and Travel
Kearney Competitors
In Kearney’s heyday, the firm competed with the top players in the consulting industry. However, since the management buyout, due to unclear vision and a brand known for focusing exclusively on sourcing and procurement, the firm has lost some of its original prestige. Kearney’s significantly smaller size makes it most comparable to firms like Oliver Wyman and Roland Berger rather than to McKinsey or BCG.
Kearney Locations
AMERICAS
- Atlanta
- Bogotá
- Boston
- Calgary
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Detroit
- Mexico City
- Minneapolis
- New York
- San Francisco
- São Paulo
- Toronto
- Washington, D.C.
ASIA-PACIFIC
- Bangkok
- Gurugram
- Hong Kong
- Kuala Lumpur
- Manila
- Melbourne
- Mumbai
- Seoul
- Shanghai
- Singapore
- Sydney
- Tokyo
EUROPE
- Amsterdam
- Berlin
- Brussels
- Bucharest
- Budapest
- Copenhagen
- Düsseldorf
- Helsinki
- Lisbon
- Ljubljana
- London
- Madrid
- Milan
- Moscow
- Munich
- Oslo
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
- Abu Dhabi
- Beirut
- Doha
- Dubai
- Istanbul
- Johannesburg
- Manama
- Riyadh
As the firm’s headquarters, Kearney Chicago is the firm’s flagship office and one of the most competitive to land an offer in. Kearney Chicago is located inside the swanky Franklin Center in downtown Chicago.
Career Path
As an undergraduate or non-MBA graduate, you start out as a Business Analyst or Senior Business Analyst, where you will be developing models, performing complex analyses, and working on research assignments at both the office and client sites.
MBAs join the firm as Associates and are involved in all phases of a consulting engagement, from pre-proposal research through final implementation.
From there you work your way up into the Manager position. Principals and Partners are elected into their position from amongst the Managers.
Kearney Internship
Kearney offers 10-week summer internships for both undergraduate and MBA students. The internship is well-paid.
What does it look like to intern with Kearney? You’ll start off by learning about the necessary tools and methodologies the firm uses for their engagements, paired with information about Kearney’s strategic direction, practice areas, and industry groups. During the internship, you will be developing models, performing complex analyses, and work on data-gathering assignments. Summer Associates are given the opportunity to travel as they will be stationed both at client sites and in the office.
You will be paired with Kearney consultants; one will serve as an official mentor. The cool part about this internship is that your mentor stays actively involved with you and your project managers throughout the engagement. You can also look forward to a mid-term performance review. As a Summer Associate, you’ll have the opportunity to socialize with other local team members (remember to use these opportunities to network!).
Many previous interns highly recommend this internship, as they were able to develop their skills in consulting with the wide variety of opportunities they were offered across numerous functions, industries and geographies. However, the downside is definitely the long hours that they were expected to put in – Kearney is not known for work-life balance.
Advice to potential interns? Culture, culture, culture. Learn about the Kearney culture and what makes it stand out and embrace change as you’ll be in for a steep learning curve.
Resume + Cover Letter Edits
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Black Belt
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Exit Opportunities
Kearney is a strong second tier brand, and as such does not receive the same accolades as the MBB firms. A lot of the work you do deals with Kearney’s key specialty – sourcing and procurement – so you might be limited in your knowledge when transferring to other firms. Some Business Analysts opt to go back to get their MBA.
However, a lot of alumni move on to roles as Managing Directors/Directors for national companies in their region, COO/VP roles, and founders.
Notable Alumni
- Meri Crowther Dinneen – Senior Director, eCommerce Strategy, Walmart
- Nina Bilimoria Angelo – VP Product Marketing and Strategy, Top Hat
- Sean Cohan – Chief Growth Officer & President, International at Nielsen
- Farrukh Bezar – Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, CSX
- Meghann Wu – Vice President Operations, Paragon One
- Sinead Bovell – Founder at WAYE
- Elvis Wong – Founder and Director, Innovate Financial Health
- Daniel Mahler – Chief Transformation Officer and Head, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
- Shujie Jiang – Chief Executive Officer, Buy42
- Juliana Chu – Vice President of Digital & E-commerce, Shiseido Asia Pacific
- Narayan Murthy – Founder and Managing Director, GoodSeeds
- Matthew Le Merle – Managing partner, Fifth Era and Chairman of the advisory board of Shanshan Group
- Antoine Rostand – President, Schlumberger Business Consulting
- Ulrich Spiesshofer – Chief Executive Officer, ABB
- Robert Nason – Group Executive, Telstra
- Alan D. Feldman – Board of Directors, JBT Corporation; Board of Directors Foot Locker, Inc; Former President & CEO, Midas (automotive service), Inc.
- Mir Aamir – Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Coupons.com
- Erica Bell – Co-Founder, Hukkster
- Steve Bratspies – Executive Vice President, General Merchandise, Walmart U.S.
- Eduardo Tobon – President, Diners Club International
- Ashu Goel – Chief Executive Officer, WinWire Technologies
- Bob Kupbens – Former VP Marketing, Delta Air Lines; VP Apple Inc. Online Store
- Ulrich Grillo – President, BDI
- Dirk Brouwers – Chief Executive Officer, Dussmann-Gruppe
- Uwe Krueger – Chief Executive Officer, WS Atkins PLC
- Hartwig Grewener – Chief Financial Officer, Sonova Holding AG
- Karl Gernandt – Executive Vice Chairman, Kuehne + Nagel International AG
KEARNEY CULTURE
One of the greatest perks of being an Kearney employee is the Global Mobility Program, which is very similar to Bain’s transfer or externship option in the 3rd year. Under it, you have the opportunity to live and work abroad. There are 3 options that you get to choose from:
- Transfers: You transfer to the country of your choice that then becomes your “host” country where you will be employed under the local terms and conditions of employment in that country.
- International Assignments: If there arises a need within the firm, you can be reassigned to a different international location due to a temporary, specific, or critical need within a market or functional area.
- Exchanges: You’ll be given an opportunity for personal & professional development by jumping into a concentrated and carefully designed experience in a different market.
Kearney’s people are the ones that make the firm what it is. The firm is very collegial, and everyone is highly collaborative – but they all work their butts off. As a comparison, Bain is collegial, but the work is not as intense and you will not be on the client site as much.
For the most part, Kearney consultants are known to be extremely down to earth and willing to lend a hand where needed. In addition, you will receive good mentorship. You’ll be given an opportunity to learn and expand your knowledge base through exposure to multiple verticals – although you will focus heavily on supply chain (topics like sourcing and procurement will be your undoubted expertise, no matter which industry you focus on).
Kearney is a great place to launch a career as you get given responsibility pretty quickly, and unlike many smaller niche boutique firms, you are exposed to many different companies and get to work with big name clients on big name projects. Client relationships are highly valued and employees are exposed to clients from day 1.
Unfortunately, there are some downsides that you have to be aware of when working for Kearney. A big concern is the work – life balance. You have to be prepared for Sunday – Friday travel, which is the flip-side of client exposure – you get to meet and collaborate with the client, but you are NEVER at home.
Employees also bemoan the lack of variety of projects assigned to them. There are a lot of sourcing/supply chain/cost reduction projects, but after you’ve ramped up the learning curve, work can be repetitive as you deal less with strategy and more with sourcing and procurement.
Core Values
There are 5 core values that Kearney trumpets:
- Curiosity and drive to explore new ground.
- Generosity or spirit to care deeply about the well-being of others
- Boldness and courage to break from the status quo
- Solidarity to be a winning team that supports each other
- Passion and presence to be your best self
Diversity at Kearney
Kearney has a number of diversity networks for consultants to plug into:
- The Women’s Network
- Black@Kearney
- EnAble
- Proud
- South Asian Network
- East Asian Network
- Middle East and North Africa
- Hispanic Origin and Latin America
Learn more about diversity at Kearney here.
KEARNEY INTERVIEWS
The interview process at Kearney varies depending on the region you are applying from. However, as a general rule, there are two rounds of interviews.
Within the first round of your interview, you will participate in two sets of interviews. As a standard, in each interview, you will be asked to complete a short case study that measures your communication and problem-solving skills. Beware – Kearney cases are hard and extremely numerical, and you better know your cost side of the profit equation inside and out.
In the other part of the interview (either before or after the case), the interviewer assesses your overall fit – based on your experience, core competencies, and potential client impact. Be prepared to talk about prior sourcing work. No matter how long ago it was, or how small or short it was – it’s never okay to have nothing to refer to.
The final rounds will typically consist of two case/fit interviews and, for Associates, one structured case presentation. For the case presentation, you will be given a case with a lot of data included and will be offered time to prepare on your own. You will then present the case to at least one interviewer, but usually for a panel, in one of your interviews (not always the last one).
Kearney Salary
Are you an undergrad, MBA or intern who’s interested in working at Kearney, but you don’t know how much you’ll make? Full Kearney salary data is available in our latest consulting salaries report!
Target Schools
Kearney recruits from over 50 undergraduate schools and over 25 MBA schools in the U.S. If you are not at a target school, you can still apply online. See below for a non-exhaustive list of undergraduate and MBA target schools for Kearney.
Undergraduate Target Schools
- Northwestern University
- University of Michigan
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of California – Berkeley
- Cornell University
- Colombia University
- Carnegie Mellon
- California Institute of Technology
- Harvard University
- University of Chicago
- Stanford
- NYU
- VA TECH
- MIT
- Yale University
- John Hopkins
- Howard University
- Clark Atlanta University
MBA Target Schools
- Booth School of Business
- Columbia Business School
- Darden School of Business
- Haas School of Business
- Harvard Business School
- Kellogg School of Management
- McCombs School of Business
- Ross School of Business
- Tepper School of Business
- Wharton School of Business
- Stern School of Business
Kearney recruits outside the U.S. as well in China, India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, and Germany.