Global management consulting firm Kearney celebrates ‘100 years of impact’

Global management consultancy Kearney is this year celebrating ‘100 years of impact’, hitching its anniversary to the founding of McKinsey and Andrew Thomas Kearney becoming its first partner.

In reality, that didn’t occur until three years after McKinsey’s establishment in 1926, and the ‘A.T. Kearney’ moniker didn’t arise for another decade and then independently of McKinsey for another one after that, when the consultancy took on its distinct identity in 1947.

Since then, the firm – rebranded to just Kearney at the beginning of 2020 – has grown to a headcount of 5,700 professionals across more than 40 countries worldwide, including in Australia since 1994 when it simultaneously launched its offices in Sydney and Melbourne.

“One hundred years is a milestone worth celebrating, and an even stronger platform for what comes next,” stated global managing partner Bob Willen. “Longevity like this doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built by people who bring curiosity and bold thinking, care deeply about one another and our clients, and who work with passion and shared purpose to turn big ideas into real impact.”

Naturally, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the firm over the past century. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Kearney’s renewed independence following its 2006 management buy-back, having in 1995 been acquired by then IT services giant EDS for somewhere in the ballpark of $1.2 billion in today’s dollars, with the dotcom crash and a conflict in culture later souring the union.

It was a familiar story to Kearney’s origins. By the time of James O. McKinsey’s death in 1937, the consultancy was effectively split in two, with Tom Kearney, whose personable approach is said to have provided balance to James’ more analytical mindset, overseeing the Chicago office, and the New York and Boston branch being run by another legendary consulting figure in Martin Bower.

Again, there was a conflict in cultures and management styles, which ultimately gave birth to McKinsey & Company and Kearney as separate entities. The rest, as they say, is history, with Kearney then forging its own global path, first with an office in Germany in 1964 – where Tom had worked on its postwar industrial recovery – before later arriving in the Asia Pacific in 1972.

Down Under

Nowadays, Kearney – led locally by Sarovar Agarwal, who recently succeeded Adam Dixon – has around 20 partners and more than 150 consultants in Australia and is consistently named as one of the country’s best places to work, albeit one of the most selective when it comes to graduate talent.

“Turning 100 marks a moment that invites both reflection and resolve,” the firm solemnly stated. “For a century, we have worked side by side with leaders across industries and geographies, helping them navigate complexity, confront change, and turn insight into action. As market dynamics continue to shift at pace, our experience matters more now than ever.”