Philip Dunne leads strategy consultancy Roland Berger in UK

Former Kearney and EY-Parthenon Partner Philip Dunne has been appointed to head up strategy consultancy Roland Berger’s UK wing. He brings more than 25 years of industry and consulting experience to the role.

Commenting on his appointment, Philip Dunne said, “I'm really excited to have started at Roland Berger as UK Managing Partner, even in such difficult times. I've always had the greatest respect for the firm, having experienced first-hand the quality of their work and people.”

According to the new UK Managing Partner, he considers his role to now be to “awaken the giant.” In doing so, he hopes to enable the UK firm to take up its “rightful place as a powerhouse” in the strategy consulting scene, with full sector coverage and a broad range of strategy & operations propositions.

 Founded by namesake Roland Berger in 1967 in Munich, the firm has since established itself as the largest German origin consultancy, and one of the few European origin strategy consultancies able to compete with the likes of US-headquartered McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Bain & Company, Oliver Wyman, Kearney and Strategy&.

With revenues of €600 million, Roland Berger is also much larger than the majority of other European strategic consultancies, such as L.E.K. Consulting, OC&C Strategy Consultants and Corporate Value Associates – however, the firm clearly believes its UK arm has plenty of untapped potential.

“I've always considered the UK practice to be a “sleeping giant” when compared with the firm's market position elsewhere in Europe and globally,” said Dunne. Germany remains by a distance Roland Berger’s main market, while the firm also has a leading presence in the strategy consulting markets of France, the Netherlands, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Dunne brings over 25 years of industry and consulting experience to help Roland Berger UK accelerate its position. Having commenced his career as an engineer by training, he spent five years with BAE Systems, during which he designed missiles for British Aerospace. This was followed by five years in France with Michelin in design and manufacturing roles – before an MBA at Cranfield saw him shift into consulting, joining Kearney in 1995.

He spent 19 years at Kearney, formerly A.T. Kearney, eventually becoming Kearney UK’s Managing Partner and head of the M&A Practice. Then, Dunne joined EY, heading up its EY-Parthenon team – EY’s division dedicated to strategic consulting services formed after the Big Four picked up The Parthenon Group.

As UK Managing Partner for Roland Berger, Dunne will now lead the growth of the practice, also leveraging the firm's expertise in operations, performance improvement and restructuring for the benefit of both corporate and private equity clients.