Hey,I had a few qs regarding the positioning of consulting firms in the middle east, and would really appreciate input!

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consulting management consulting Middle East

New answer on Jun 10, 2020

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Anonymous A asked on Jun 08, 2020

1. How would you define the Tiership of consulting firms in the ME region ? (example, I heard Kearney, S& and Oliver Wyman are pretty strong, Bain is not as strong as globally etc) and if you could list the top consulting firms in buckets (by tier, by salary, and by exit opportunities)

2. Which of the top consulting firms in ME sponsor b-school for their employees ? (plus b-school placement chances from these firms)

3. Which category do boutique firms like Alix Partners ,Alvarez and Marsal and Simon-Kutcher fall in (lower tier 2, tier 3, etc)

4. Which firms also provide options for (a) transfers to global offices (b) externships

Thanks in advance!

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Answer 1

Best answer

Anonymous replied on Jun 08, 2020

Hi,

I thinks those post could help you find some answers :

Applying for Middle East Offices Post-Covid19

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/applying-for-middle-east-offices-post-covid19-6583

How is the work/life balance/working hours in Middle East?

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-is-the-worklife-balanceworking-hours-in-middle-east-3015

Tier 2 Companies in the middle east

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/tier-2-companies-in-the-middle-east-2043

How do consulting firms in the Middle East differ from their respective offices in US/Europe in terms of training?

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-do-consulting-firms-in-the-middle-east-differ-from-their-respective-offices-in-useurope-in-terms-of-training-3361

What are the consulting career opportunities in the Middle East (Dubai, Qatar and KSE) ?

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-are-the-consulting-career-opportunities-in-the-middle-east-dubai-qatar-and-kse-5924

Best,

David

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Answer 2

Ian

Expert

Content Creator

replied on Jun 09, 2020

Hi there,

1) This is quite the request! Honestly, I recommend you provide a (very) short list, then we can talk through pros/cons of each. If you're wondering to which you should apply, I recommend you keep the net wide, then let their decisions on whether to interview you or not narrow it down! In general though, the differences in tiers are mostly nuances

2) I would reach out to HR to determine this

3) I would place those in tier 3

4) Most do! Again, I would reach out to HR

By the way, apart for Question #1 all of these are great "excuses" to network with people at each company...you can reach out looking for that information for their respective firm/office :)

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Answer 3

Clara

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Content Creator

replied on Jun 08, 2020

McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

True thing, in the ME there are some particularities. MBB will always be strong and branded, but also have a look on OW
This is global, MBB and in some cases OW & Strategy&
Tier2
Transfers pretty much all, with the known difficulties. Externships honestly, I don´t know, but I imagine MBBs, as in the rest of the world.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Answer 4

Anonymous updated the answer on Jun 08, 2020

Hi there,

You touched on very valid points - the Middle-East region has some nuances to the normal "industry tiering".

Feel free to reach out via DM for specific answers.

Best

Khaled

(edited)

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Answer 5

Anonymous replied on Jun 10, 2020

Dear A,

I gave very extensive answer on this link https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-are-the-consulting-career-opportunities-in-the-middle-east-dubai-qatar-and-kse-5924 and for your comfort I will put it here:

Strategy consulting in the Middle East is currency presenting unique, I would even say historic, career opportunities. The industry is booming through rapid double-digit growth in consulting fees over the last 3-5 years. Some companies even manage to grow with 30%+ year-on-year. This is reflected in the highest salaries (i.e. 80-120k starting package for business analyst/junior consultant, absolutely tax free, which makes it 2x or even 3x higher nett-wise than in Europe, US or the rest of Asia) and very short promotion cycles. It became again possible to get promoted to the next level in just 12 or even 6 months instead of usual 18-24 months. Some good friends of mine have been recently promoted to partners in just 8 years which is a really great "fast track"!

On top of that, the whole region is undergoing a massive transformation into post-oil era. Governments of KSA, Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain are investing billions of dollars to modernize their countries in transport, infrastructure, eduction, innovations, hosting mega events like Global Expo 2020 in Dubai or Football Championship in Qatar 2022, etc. They all need a proper advice and depend a lot on the foreign expertise which is brought in the region through the leading strategy consulting firms. Working on this kind of projects is very exciting (I did myself a couple of them) and very fulfilling, because it gives you a feeling of doing something really meaningful and creating an impact in the region

The companies like Kearney (former A. T. Kearney), Roland Berger, BCG, Strategy & (former Booz), Oliver Wymann, Bain and McKinsey have faced unpresented growth in the region and are hungry searching for the very high number of top candidates across hierchies. Here are just some facts about their latest developments just to give a small touch:

During the past Partner Boot Camp in Barcelona Roland Berger nominated 20+ new partners and senior partners, including 3 new partners in the Middle East. This is probably for the first time in the history of the company that so many people were promoted at once. The company has added 2 new offices in Doha last year and Riyadhin 2018 - with managing director of Qatar was elected as partner just within less than one year. The company's stuff has almost doubled from ~50+ employees in 2017 to ~100 nowadays. Performance bonuses have been really generous.
Kearney is growing historically fast with 30%+ CAGR (this is absolutely insane!) and struggles to find enough good candidates for their pipeline. Nowadays, more than 30% of firm's global revenues are coming from the Middle East region. Therefore, they are temporary transferring people from other regions to ME in order to stuff adequately their projects and compansate the shortage as well as hiring excessively.
BCG won the biggest projects in history of consulting in 2017 - Vision 2030 for the goverment of KSA (Saudi Arabia), amounting tremendeous 300m+ USD. The impact of this project is hard to overestimate. More than 400 BCG consultants work together to entirely transform the leading country in the region. Of course, BCG is hiring intensively and transfer consultants from other regions to cope with that demand.
And the list goes on...

On the other side, I should say that recruiting practices in the region are still not very professional. Response times are really very long - several weeks, sometimes even months. The process is not well structured due to the high number of applicants and very limited HR resources.

However, I strongly believe that due to the all described above reasons (geopardizing market growth, exciting project topics, very lucrative financial prospects and "fast track" promotion cycles) Middle East region is nowadays "the right place to be" for those of you, who are eager to build a great career in consulting. No matter whether you are a university graduate or a young professional with some years of experience.

If I were you again I would definitely recommend to explore these trully historically unique opportunities in the region!

Happy to help you get an offer.

Best,

André

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Answer 6

Antonello

Expert

Content Creator

replied on Jun 09, 2020

McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi,
1. I confirm McK and BCG are the strongest in the market, and also ATK, S&, OW are great
2. It depends on the school and on the office, you can check with a consultant of the office (if you know someone or if your talking through LinkedIn with someone) or with the HR
3. Tier 3
4. Every tier1&2, but you have to build relationship with the target office (e.g. by doing a project there)

Best,
Antonello

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Hey,I had a few qs regarding the positioning of consulting firms in the middle east, and would really appreciate input!

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