Slalom Consulting expands into Canada with Toronto office
North American consultancy Slalom Consulting has recently expanded into Canada with the opening of an office in Toronto, its 22nd hub globally.
With nearly 4,000 consultants, and revenues of more than $550 million, Slalom Consulting is one of the larger management and technology consultancies in North America. The advisory firm, founded in 2001 in Seattle, spent the first 13 years of its life growing its ranks in the US – by the start of 2014 the firm had grown its revenues to around $480 million. In the summer of 2014 the consultancy for the first time went international, and set foot on UK soil, opening an office in London. Run by Alex Qatsha, a former consultant of Unisys, Accenture and Deloitte, the London operation has enjoyed a growing track record across the UK and European clients and industries.
In January this year the US consultancy expanded its wings into its third market outside the US, with Canada the somewhat closer to home destination. Slalom's recently opened Canadian office is based in Toronto (8 King Street East) and led by Saskatchewan native Wayne Ingram, who joined the firm in the summer of 2015 from Accenture and has managed the setup and growth of the office. In his latest role at Accenture, Ingram served as a Managing Director, and throughout his 25+ years with the firm he held various leadership roles in Canada, Europe and the United States. Latterly, Ingram worked as Global Managing Director for Enterprise Architecture and Application Strategy, and prior to that he led Accenture’s Technology Practice in Canada.
Over the past months Slalom Consulting has seen its team in Toronto take off in size, on the back of a rapidly expanding base of Canadian clients. Ingram says the consulting firm today boasts a team of around “60 highly skilled consultants”, and adds that the Toronto venture expects further growth in the second half of 2016 in step with a variety of engagements that are set to kick off in the period. Asked for what he believes is the recipe behind the firm’s ability to stand out from the consulting crowd, Ingram says: “In a global market where innovation is increasingly important to keep and stay ahead of the competition, Canadian companies need to quickly develop solutions and bring them to market. Slalom helps clients accelerate this process with an agile approach to problem solving and a proven ability to innovate and execute.”
The consultancy can in particular leverage its business and technology experience in the US, he says, and build on award-winning partnerships with solution providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Tableau.
Looking further ahead, Ingram says Slalom has set its sights on further penetration in Canada, highlighting Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal as the key targets for following office openings. “Slalom has the agility, energy, and culture of a start-up combined with the resources, reach, and scale of a global company, allowing us to think big, act fast, and see results,” he comments. “I believe it is critical to drive innovation here in Canada. I know what we are capable of and that is why I am passionate about the freedom Slalom gives to its employees and brings to its clients to not only solve a problem, but implement the solution.”
