McKinsey bolts-on Venturetec to Digital business in Australia
Global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company has beefed up its Digital division in Australia with the bolt-on of Venturetec, a boutique consultancy specialised in digital innovation and venture building.
McKinsey Digital is McKinsey’s arm focused on developing digital strategies and bringing these to life. Globally, the division has more than 5,000 staff – data scientists, engineers, architects, developers, technology leads, agile coaches, designers, and cybersecurity experts – working from offices across more than 60 countries.
The acquisition of Venturetec adds a team of five consultants and innovators to the Leap practice, McKinsey Digital’s digital business building service line. This global 700-strong unit has seen strong growth over the past three years, having supported the incubation, launch and build of more than 200 businesses.
According to Trey Zagante, the founder of B Corp Venturetec, the joining of forces marks “an exciting new chapter for the firm.” In a statement on the firm’s website he wrote, “Since inception we’ve led over 80 projects with clients across seven countries. We’re proud of the work we’ve achieved together with our clients and we’ve always challenged ourselves on how we can further deliver on our mission to inspire and enable organisations to innovate and become future-ready.”
“Joining McKinsey Digital represents a huge opportunity for us to work across even more diverse engagements. Leap brings an unrivalled global mix of resources and expertise to help clients build dynamic new businesses and establish lasting innovation capabilities.”
Closing a deal is a rarity for McKinsey & Company – the global strategy consulting firm prefers to expand organically. In 2020 Germany’s Orpheus was its sole acquisition, and in 2019 the consultancy bought Westney Consulting in the US. In 2018, McKinsey didn’t buy anything.
However, Venturetec is the firm’s second transaction of 2021. Two weeks ago, McKinsey Digital acquired Candid Partners, a US provider of cloud services to large organisations.
Last month, one of McKinsey’s main global rivals, Bain & Company, closed a deal in Italy.
