A.T. Kearney appoints Simon Kent Global Head of Financial Services

28 February 2019 Consultancy.uk

Management consultancy A.T. Kearney has installed Simon Kent as its Global Head of Financial Services. The London-based Partner joined the firm five years ago in its London Financial Institutions Group.

Since regaining its independence in 2006, international consulting firm A.T. Kearney has been on an impressive growth track. By late 2013, A.T. Kearney had grown its partner ranks and global revenue by 50%, at which point the firm announced a target of doubling in size by 2020.

A.T. Kearney has a particularly strong track record of advising financial services brands, with a focus on the banking, insurance and payments markets, working on projects that underpin the CEO agenda and that typically involve strategic operational and digital transformation. A.T. Kearney’s global financial services team works with brands around the world to transform their operations for competitive advantage and create long-term success, and as the firm looks to strengthen and expand one of its key business lines, it has appointed a new leader for its global financial services group.

Simon Kent joined A.T Kearney as a Partner in its London headquarters in 2013, arriving from Navigant, where he served as Head of Financial Services during a six-year stay. Prior to that, he spent five years as an Executive Consultant with Troika UK, and another five years as a Principal Consultant at PA Consulting. Bringing more than 25 years of experience in advising financial services clients to his new role, Kent will now be tasked with growing A.T. Kearney’s footprint in the financial services sector internationally, along with leading the firm’s investment into the sector.

Commenting on his new challenge, Kent said, "Financial services companies are a vital element of the economy and a force for good when they get it right. It’s no secret that the industry has faced well-documented challenges over the past decade. It has taken - and continues to take - major strides to transform itself. At its best, financial services can serve as a powerful force for good in the economy, and clients are focused on that purpose as well as delivering shareholder and customer value.”

He added, “Alongside that, factors like increasing disruption, open banking, rising customer expectations, new challenger firms and new regulation are all continuing to reshape the sector, driving demand for expert advice… I’m looking forward to the challenge of delivering growth for the firm in these areas.”