Big Three (management consultancies)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Big Three or MBB refers to the name colloquially given to the world's three largest strategy consulting firms by revenue. They are also considered the most prestigious employers in the management consulting industry.[1] McKinsey is the biggest of these with an annual revenue of $8.8bn (2016) followed by Boston Consulting Group ($5.6bn revenue; 2016) and then Bain & Company ($3.8–4.5bn revenue; 2017 estimate).

The firms[edit]

The three consulting firms widely regarded as constituting the Big Three or MBB are McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company.

McKinsey & Company[edit]

This firm was founded in Chicago by James McKinsey in 1926. The firm has grown significantly since then, establishing 104 offices located in 60 countries as of 2014.[2] McKinsey & Company has been voted number one in "The Best Consulting Firms: Prestige" list of the Vault.com career intelligence website consecutively for 14 years since 2002.[3][4] The firm currently serves two-thirds of the Fortune 1000. Their areas of expertise include management, organisation, operations and IT.[5]

The Boston Consulting Group[edit]

BCG was founded in 1963 by Bruce D. Henderson, a former Arthur D. Little consultant and a Vanderbilt University and Harvard Business School alumnus.[6] Starting out with only two consultants, the firm quickly grew. It currently employs 14,000 people over 85 offices in 48 countries.[7] BCG also has been consistently featured in Consulting Magazine’s "Best Firms to Work For" lists since 2001.[8] Their areas of expertise include corporate development, business growth and innovation.[9]

Bain & Company[edit]

Bain was founded by Bill Bain in 1973. The firm pioneered Private Equity consulting and the fund Bain Capital was founded by partners from Bain & Company and led by Mitt Romney. It currently has 57 offices in 36 countries.[10] Their areas of expertise include private equity, mergers and acquisitions and retail.[11] Bain has been ranked #1 "Best Place to Work" by Glassdoor and leads the Vault Consulting 50 ranking, as well as Vault's "Best Consulting Firms to Work For" ranking.[12]

These three firms are the world's largest strategy consulting firms by revenue. Their latest publicly available data is summarised in the table below:[13]

Firm Employees (Year) Revenue (Year) Revenue/employee (Year) Change Locations Headquarters
McKinsey & Company 16,000 (2017)[14] $8.80 B (2017)[15] $550,000 (2017) 3.8% 120+ [16] New York, NY
Boston Consulting Group 16,000 (2017)[17] $6.30 B (2017)[18] $394,000 (2017) 12.5% 80+ Boston, MA
Bain & Company 8,000 (2017)[19] $3.8-4.5 B (2017 est.)[20][21] $475,500 - 560,000 (2017) 15.0%[22] 50+ Boston, MA

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Szczerba, Marta (5 March 2014). "The Big Three: meet the world's top consulting firms" (72). The Gateway. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  2. ^ "McKinsey & Co History". Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  3. ^ "The Best Consulting Firms: Prestige". vault.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  4. ^ Greiner, Larry; Olson, Thomas (25 June 2004). Contemporary consultant casebook: educating today's consultants. Thomson/South-Western. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-324-29019-6.
  5. ^ "McKinsey Client Expertise". mckinsey.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  6. ^ Hayes, Thomas C. (July 24, 1992). "Bruce Henderson, 77, Consultant And Writer on Business Strategy". New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  7. ^ "BCG History". bcg.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Best Firms to Work For Ranking". consultingmag.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  9. ^ "BCG Expertise". bcg.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Worldwide offices - Bain & Company". Bain.com. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  11. ^ "Bain Worldwide Offices". bain/com. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Awards & Recognitions - Bain".
  13. ^ Chin, Eric. "The MBB Trio In Management Consulting". beatoncapital.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  14. ^ "McKinsey fact sheet". McKinsey. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  15. ^ "McKinsey & Company on the Forbes America's Best Midsize Employers List". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  16. ^ https://www.mckinsey.com/locations
  17. ^ "The Boston Consulting Group Hits $6.3 Billion in Sales - The Boston Consulting Group". bcg.com. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  18. ^ "The Boston Consulting Group Hits $6.3 Billion in Sales - The Boston Consulting Group". bcg.com. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  19. ^ https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/01/17/bain-founder-bill-bain-dies-age/kT0h8zL5aTJLX6fpqxkZxI/story.html
  20. ^ https://www.economist.com/news/business/21577376-world-grows-more-confusing-demand-clever-consultants-booming-brainy
  21. ^ https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/11/20/1197550/0/en/Bain-Company-Elects-Manny-Maceda-as-Worldwide-Managing-Director.html
  22. ^ http://www.bain.com/careers/roles/AC.aspx
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Three_(management_consultancies)&oldid=863194904"