KPMG Consulting buys Trompenaars Hampden-Turner

Accounting and consulting firm KPMG has taken over Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, a specialist in the area of leadership and change management. The change specialist will become part of KPMG’s People & Change practice.

Trompenaars Hampden-Turner (THT) was founded in 1985 by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner, it is based in Amsterdam. The consultancy is, among others, specialised in solving problems and dilemma in the fields of cultural, leadership, behaviour change and diversity within organisations. Trompenaars Hampden-Turner employs 15 consultants, including Fons Trompenaars, a guru with international renown for his diverse models in the area of HR and culture. In 2011 and 2013 Trompenaars made it into HR Magazine’s top 50 list of the most influential living management thought leaders in the world.

With the acquisition of Trompenaars Hampden-Turner is set to invigorate the human capital practice within KPMG, according to Harold de Bruijn, partner at KPMG and responsible for the Dutch People & Change practice. “The takeover is a perfect fit for the worldwide strategy of KPMG management consulting, with the aim to position KPMG at the forefront of consulting for large scale project in which behaviour change and culture play a crucial role.” With the takeover the Big Four firm is, according to the practice leader, even better situated to help clients optimise human capital.

Trompenaars Hampden-Turner will be integrated within the Dutch People & Change practice, however, the acquired consultants, as an expert-team, may be repositioned within Europe and worldwide to meet clients’ HR needs. De Bruin remarking that: “KPMG is through the expertise of THT in state to enrich projects at organisation in the field of culture and diversity.” This applies not only for human capital trajectories, but also for all other programmes involving human capital components according to De Bruijn; with work on fusions and takeovers examples of such an integrated service offering: “Given the fact that THT also advises in the field of cultural differences in fusions and takeovers, KPMG will also offer the possibility of sending in consultants from other practices.” Finally, the expertise offer by THT will be deployed to train internal terms, for instance, in the use of methods and techniques developed by THT.

For Trompenaars Hampden-Turner the takeover means there is a good change for international expansion, one of the targets of the firm that in practice was never realised. De Bruin relates: “Through its small scale and without the requisite networks THT never manage to realize its ambitions.” Under the KPMG flag – with the firm now part of one of the largest management consultancies in the world – De Bruijn is expecting to be able to take part in ambition.

For KPMG in the Netherlands this is the second large takeover in as many days. The day earlier a deal was closed with Crimsonwing, with as consequence, a European Microsoft Dynamics practice with more than 350 professionals.