I'm joining MBB London next year and I wanted an insight into what the most common exits where? I imagine PE is popular but where else do people exit to?
Hi Anonymous,
I like your thinking process to look at your longer-term goals well in advance of joining MBB and not loosing the big picture on your career - it's definitely something most candidates should do as well! (it's in any case good to have a plan - doesn't matter that much if it changes along the way)
As London being a financial powerhub in Europe (at least for the time being, let's see how that will develop in the next decade) I can see a higher percentage of people ending up in the financial industry - but that's obviously also depending on your area of expertise in MBB.
The majority of candidates transfer to management roles in the industry - which is quite logical, given that at project manager level you are usually the main face to the customer and having a strong background in industry and function ... and since your clients know you already and it can get only cheaper compared to your daily MBB rate, you are the perfect hire for their problem.
Apart from that, some folks start their own ventures or go to VC/PE - although not a very likely occurrence (not having specific data on that - just my observation).
Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!
Robert
Hi Anonymous,
The most common exit will be going into strategy/business development roles in various larger companies with HQs in London. Increasingly common in my network is also leaving for more senior positions in early to mid-stage startups as a way to more quickly get operational/commercial roles instead of spending time in an in-house strategy function first.
In terms of raw numbers, I don't think that PE is that big given that there are relatively few positions in total. However, if this is a path that you are interested in its very doable, especially if you make sure to get staffed on commercial due diligence projects during your MBB tenure.
Let me know if you have any more questions over PM!
-A
It is a bit ironic that you are thinking of exit opps even before starting but I can give you my POV. Exit opportunities are especially varied in the London offices. PE exits happen but they are not very common - probably 10%-20% at best (Bain has a higher proportion of PE exits as they typically had above market share of PE engagements) and perhaps 20-30% if you include VC roles and PE backed companies as well
Vast majority leave for roles within startups and traditional industries. Smaller portion also go to other consultancies and a small but decent number start their own ventures or go free-lance
Your exit opportunity is determined by your pre-MBB background (if relevant), the type of work you did while at MBB and of course your own interest. If you know that you want to move to a PE buy-side role then you need to be sure that you get significant exposure to PE engagements at your time in MBB. Happy to chat if helpful
Hello!
To add on top of what has been said:
PE is actually a big one for Bain mostly, and in McK London is higher than other offices. However, it´s still not the dominant one, since many people accept offers from their clients, from very very diverse industries
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
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