IBM Consulting appoints Andy Baldwin as managing partner

Former EY heavyweight Andy Baldwin has joined the consulting wing of IBM. Baldwin has become a global managing partner at IBM Consulting, having previously worked at Big Blue two decades ago.

EY stalwart Andy Baldwin began his career with the Big Four firm in 1993. Working his way up to partner over the following seven years, he left to helm Capgemini’s insurance consulting wing at the start of the Millennium.

Two years later, Baldwin joined IBM, to head up its insurance consulting division in Northern Europe. That was a role he held for a further two years, before rejoining EY. In his second, 20-year stint with the audit and advisory giant, he eventually became a global managing partner, responsible for client service.

That came to an end last year, however, after Baldwin was passed over to take on EY’s top job. In his role leading client services, he was a driving force behind the firm’s controversial plan to separate EY’s audit and consulting wings – something which he argued would free the firm from conflict of interest regulations, but which EY’s audit clients rebelled against. When Project Everest collapsed under significant pressure from those partners, his association with the plan arguably counted against him.

Having initially been understood to be a front-runner for the role of global chief executive at the Big Four firm, he eventually placed second to US-based Janet Truncale. In December, he called time on his career with EY.

Commenting on his exit via LinkedIn, Baldwin noted, “When you've been around EY for a long time, you’re usually asked what you are most proud of? For me, it is seeing all the colleagues I have hired, promoted, mentored and worked alongside doing so well at EY (and sometimes outside of EY as well). As a future alum, it gives me great confidence in the continued success of the organisation.”

New chapter

After half a year of consideration, however, Baldwin has made a sensational return to the consulting arena, having been snapped up by IBM. The technology giant has recently seen a surge of senior Big Four hirings – Neil Dhar, who joined in October and in April was appointed head of IBM Consulting in the Americas, having previously co-led consulting at PwC US – and Baldwin will now become a global managing partner of Big Blue’s consulting brand instead.

Consulting is IBM’s second-largest division after software, bringing in annual revenue of almost $21bn from IT modernisation, systems integration and business process outsourcing, among other services — about the same size as EY’s advisory business. However, the industry is going through a difficult period – with many of the largest players in particular weighing up headcount reductions in response. IBM Consulting’s revenues in the second quarter were flat, year on year – but it may now hope to change that with its latest heavyweight hiring.

In an internal memo reported by The Financial Times, IBM Consulting’s Senior Vice President Mohamad Ali commented, “the consulting industry is poised for reinvention”. But he added that having “an industry pioneer with an unparalleled track record” such as Baldwin would help the firm to adapt – particularly thanks to his “distinct ability to integrate technology and business expertise”.

Besides his earlier experience with IBM, Baldwin will also have had plenty of opportunity to prepare for modern life with IBM. In 2023, IBM and EY entered into an alliance, which saw EY become part of IBM’s quantum network community, using the access this provides to apply quantum solutions to some of the greatest problems businesses and governments face around the world.

Speaking at the time, Baldwin said it was an opportunity for EY to expand its “depth of knowledge and capabilities in this space and deepen our rich relationship with our IBM alliance teams.”