Strategy consultancies are most productive 'CEO factories'
A new study of large businesses has found that five of the world’s leading strategy consulting brands are also the most prolific producers of company leaders. Surveying CEOs on LinkedIn, the research found that more than 7% had previously worked for McKinsey & Company alone, while more than 6% also had Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group on their resumes.
A 2015 study of US CEOs found that between 1992 and 2010, more than one-fifth of those taking the top job at S&P 1500 companies came from just 36 companies. These so-called ‘CEO factories’ had allowed business professionals to grow their skills and knowhow, while also giving them access to high-profile clients, and enabling them to build invaluable cross-sector networks.
Now, a new study from OnDeck has revealed something which may not come as much as a surprise to followers of the consulting industry. Of the firms offering such opportunities to their staff, five strategy firms lead the pack as the most dominant CEO factories of all.
More than one-in-ten students and graduates in the UK alone hope to land a job in strategy and management consulting when they exit academia – with the sector being is seen as an excellent opportunity for young professionals to continue learning while gaining work experience, with training and opportunities to travel or relocate among the top factors drawing new talent to the industry. The world’s most prestigious strategy consultancies are particularly popular for this reason, as applicants hope the firms’ unparalleled access to global corporations and government departments will provide vital knowhow to build a career in professional services, or in industry.
And the figures displayed by OnDeck suggest those graduates might well be on to something. Top of the pile for CEO factories is McKinsey & Company – often cited as the world’s leading strategy brand. OnDeck used LinkedIn’s company search tool to calculate the percentage of a company’s former employees who now work as CEOs, and discovered that 7.1% of McKinsey’s former employees had graduated into the role. On top of that, it’s worth noting that a growing list of government leaders also have the firm somewhere on their CV.
Alongside McKinsey are the firm’s MBB rivals, Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group. Both firms appeared on the resumes of more than 6% of CEOs analysed – and both are regularly tapped by some of the world’s largest corporate and public entities for key transformation campaigns. Bain was recently brought on board a major strategy review for the BBC, for example, while BCG’s chair met with King Charles and President Joe Biden for a climate round table at Windsor Castle.
Rounding off the top-five were two more famous strategy consulting brands. Kearney hosts one of the world’s leading think tanks in the Global Business Policy Council, and that influence could be behind its role in creating 5.6% of CEOs. Meanwhile Oliver Wyman’s status has been growing rapidly since it was contracted to oversee the Credit Suisse-UBS integration – but it has also been producing CEOs at some rate before that, appearing on 5.3% of their CVs.
What that actually means is another matter. The strategy firms themselves will understandably assert that this is a reflection of the quality training they offer, while also flagging up the exposure to decision-making processes and inside knowledge gained by consultants staffing their projects, with government entities and corporate titans.
However, critics will argue it is just as much a reflection of the echo chambre that is corporate life. When appointing new leaders, successful firms might well have a bias toward figures who reinforce the ‘best practices’ and ‘workplace cultures’ the firms already embody. And who helped to shape those practices and cultures in the first place? Probably consultants from the world’s largest strategy brands.
