SBC founder Antoine Rostand joins A. T. Kearney in Paris
The founder of Schlumberger Business Consulting, Antoine Rostand, has joined A. T. Kearney as Senior Advisor and member of the Board of the firm’s Global Energy Practice. Rostand will be based in A. T. Kearney’s Paris office, although his mandate will span international assignments and clients.
Frenchman Antoine Rostand graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique, and holds an MBA from INSEAD. He began his career in 1986 as an engineer at Schlumberger where he gained extensive knowledge of the oil industry. After working at ICME consulting, he joined A. T. Kearney as Partner in 1996, at the time a subsidiary of EDS (Electronic Data Systems). In 1999 he became president of EDS France before re-joining Schlumberger in 2002.
Two years down the line of his second spell at Schlumberger, Rostand returned to his consulting roots and founded Schlumberger Business Consulting (SBC). Under his leadership SBC grew into one of the leading providers of strategy, operations, people & transformation, capital projects and mergers & acquisitions services to clients in the energy/oil & gas sector. In August last year – when SBC had a team of over 250 consultants operating from nine offices worldwide – the consultancy was acquired by Accenture, one of the globe’s largest consultancies, and integrated into its Accenture Strategy platform.
Following completion of the integration process, Rostand has decided to embark on a new adventure, and was lured back by his former employer. Operating independently again since 2006*, headed by the Dutchman Johan Aurik, A.T. Kearney has been on an impressive growth trajectory in recent years, growing to a team of 3,500 employees (325 partners) in 40 countries.
In his new role as Senior Advisor, Rostand mainly support clients in the oil and gas sector with strategic direction and transformation required to face the current challenges of the industry. Key challenges include dealing with the low oil prices and its aftermath on capital investment and operations, tapping into the potential of digital solutions and the Internet of Things, and a wave of M&A expected to hit the industry. Wim Plaizier, a partner at A.T. Kearney, recently also highlighted sustainable energy as a growing disruptor for the industry.
“The energy world is evolving quickly and the large players in this industry need to be supported in their transformations. A. T. Kearney brings them this strategic support. It is a real pleasure for me to re-join a firm with the ambition and capabilities to make an impact in the energy industry and I am looking forward to working with the teams to achieve this” says Rostand.
London based Richard Forrest, Lead Partner of A.T. Kearney’s Global Energy Practice, says he “look forwards” to welcoming Rostand, adding “It reinforces the commitment and foresight of our firm. The International experience and recognised expertise of Antoine in oil & gas, will be valuable assets to our global clients and all of our teams.”
* The management buyout was supported by around 170 partners in 26 countries. Two smaller operating groups remained within EDS: the executive search unit and the Maintenance, Repair and Operations Management business (MR&O).
