Eden McCallum opens office in Zurich, Switzerland
Consulting firm Eden McCallum has earlier this week opened an office in Zurich, Switzerland, its third hub in Europe. Former BCG advisors Jörg Funk and Dirk Cohausz have been hired to spearhead the Swiss practice.
Founded in 2000 by former McKinsey & Company consultants Liann Eden and Dena McCallum, Eden McCallum has since grown to a leading management consultancy. The consultancy is renowned for its breakthrough business model, which combines traditional strategy consulting – more than half of Eden McCallum’s consultants base has a background with McKinsey, BCG or Bain – with freelancing, resulting in a model that provides clients with high quality at a lower cost. The firms approach has in recent years frequently made the headlines, highlighted for its disruptive and future-proof nature in the light of the changing ad advisory landscape, with references in for instance the HBR article ‘Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption’ and more recently an article in The Economist.
In 2008 Eden McCallum opened its second office, based in Amsterdam, with partners Heleen Wachters and Marjon Wanders, who continue to lead the Dutch operations. Seven years later, the business advisory has expanded further into mainland Europe, choosing Switzerland as its next base, with an office in Zurich the result. To set ground in the country, Eden McCallum has taken on board two experienced consultants, both with a background with The Boston Consulting Group: Jörg Funk and Dirk Cohausz.
Funk was previously a Partner and Managing Director with The Boston Consulting Group in Sao Paolo and Zurich, and Executive VP and Head of Corporate Strategy and Acquisitions at Sulzer. He is also the founder of a high-tech startup firm. His client work spans multiple sectors, particularly Industrials and Telecoms/Technology. Funk will lead the office alongside his former BCG Zurich colleague Dirk Cohausz, who after 8 years with the US-origin strategy consultancy went on to found his own consulting firm (‘Comedium’). Cohausz’s consulting track record spans Media, Financial Services, Consumer Goods and Pharmaceuticals. Next to his consulting work for Eden McCallum, Cohausz is involved with a number of startups on an advisory basis.
Both Funk and Cohausz have been appointed to Eden McCallum’s leadership team. Earlier this year Michael Edwards (ex-McKinsey and Accenture) was added to the partnership, while former BCG advisor Stephanie Mills was elected a partner in October last year. “Having worked with Eden McCallum as an independent consultant I was really impressed by the offering both for clients and consultants, especially the quality and pragmatism of the project teams,” comments Funk. “I’m excited to be joining, and to build the Switzerland office.”
On behalf of the partner team Eden says they are “absolutely delighted to be entering this exciting next phase” in the company’s growth. Looking ahead, co-founder McCallum adds the firm has already set its sights on further international expansion, with US eyed as the first target. “We are planning to launch in New York in around eighteen months”, she unveils.
