Sarovar Agarwal new managing partner of Kearney’s Australian business
Global strategy and management consulting firm Kearney has appointed Sarovar Agarwal as its new managing partner for Australia and New Zealand, succeeding Adam Dixon after six years in the role.
Agarwal has led Kearney’s Asia Pacific communications, media & technology practice out of Melbourne for the past four years, having joined the management consultancy in India in 2004 before arriving downunder a decade later and being made partner.
“I’m excited to be stepping into the managing partner role and leading our exceptional team, especially as the firm marks its 100th year,” Agarwal said. “Thanks to Adam and the past leaders who have built strong foundations and a wonderful culture here at Kearney.”
A civil engineering graduate, Agarwal kicked off his career as a software engineer before quickly gaining an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and switching to consulting. Since then, he has developed deep expertise with a particular focus on the telecommunications and media sectors, advising industry leaders on a range of strategic and operational matters.
Agarwal’s previous work for C-suite clients spanning both sides of the Pacific has included post-merger integrations for major telcos, business strategy and build & launch for challengers, large-scale productivity and organisational transformations, and operating model design and implementations across a range of media segments including production, broadcasting and print.
Meanwhile, Dixon, who replaced now global strategy & transformation chair Nigel Andrade at the start of 2020 and had to immediately weather what was to come, has been appointed to Kearney’s global board and will also take up the A/NZ chair role. He joined almost a quarter of a century ago, and has since spent with the firm time in London, New York, Johannesburg, and Sydney.
“It has been a privilege to lead the A/NZ business and see our team grow and develop over the past few years,” Dixon said, praising their resilience throughout the pandemic. “I’m excited to be taking on the new roles and to bring a regional perspective into broader strategic discussions, and have no doubt Sarovar will do a great job. I look forward to seeing the unit flourish under his leadership.”
Kearney notes that the firm has almost doubled its local revenues during Dixon’s six-year tenure, while at the same time instituting a strong workplace agenda.
Meanwhile, Singapore-based Marco de la Rosa will take over Agarwal’s former APAC CMT leadership portfolio, while Takefumi Harigaya becomes Kearney’s managing director for Japan as part of the regional reshuffle.
