Oliver Wyman Vs. Strategy&

Oliver Wyman PwC PwC Interview strategy&
New answer on Jan 31, 2024
12 Answers
4.8 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Jun 11, 2020

I have offers from both firms, my main focus to choose now is prestige and brand strength.

I am interested to transfer to MBB Later, which will make it easier for me?

Overview of answers

Upvotes
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best answer
Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 11, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Congrats on your offers.

Some toughts:

  • Prestige-like Oliver Wyman is a stronger brand. It also depends on the sub-segment where you want to specialize (e.g., they are super strong in banking)
  • Pay-wise, OW is going for sure to offer quite some more
  • Regarding possibility to do an MBA after, chances are higher with OW -altough is not super common either-.
  • Alumni and carreer progression is similar

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Was this answer helpful?
Hagen
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jan 31, 2024
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

I would highly advise you to opt for the option that better aligns with your professional (and maybe even personal) mid- to long-term goals. In order to make an informed decision, I would advise you to do the following:

  • Weigh the different criteria that are meaningful to you independently of the current options (e.g., prestige, culture, international exposure, compensation, location). After that, score the two options based on your criteria and their weighting, resulting in two scores. This way, you have covered the left-brain perspective.
  • Critically assess your initial reaction to the outcome of the scores. For instance, if you feel the urge to tweak the numbers, this is a solid indicator that you do not want this decision to become reality. This way, you have covered the right-brain perspective.
  • By doing so, you will be able to integrate both parts of the brain into the decision-making, guaranteeing a higher chance that you will still be happy with it years later.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Was this answer helpful?
Anonymous replied on Jun 13, 2020

Dear A,

It depends on the on the geography. If you have both pffers in the Middle Easr, then I would definitely recommend you to go for Strategy& as it has a way greater recognition, in terms of brand network and projects in the Middle East comparing to Oliver Wyman.

But, if you're applying in the other geography, I would rather go for Oliver Wyman, because in the rest of the world Oliver Wyman is percieved more positively than Startegy&. And in general, it has more healthy working culture.

Hope it helps,

If you have any further qiestions, feel free to reach out,

Wish you best of luck,

André

Was this answer helpful?
8
Francesco
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 12, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

congratulations on your offers!

They both offer opportunities to move to MBB later on. In general the perception of the OW brand is stronger (I think it is reflected in the previous comments as well), but there are regional differences (in the Middle East for example the Strategy& brand is pretty strong).

To have a proper reference, I would research the number of alumni moving to MBB in your geography for both, weighting it for the size of the local office – you should be able to easily do that using LinkedIn.

Best,

Francesco

Was this answer helpful?
Robert
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 11, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Anonymous,

Both options work fine for transferring to MBB. Specifically for McKinsey I coached canidates from both Oliver Wyman and Strategy&, and both transferred successfully to McK.

From my observation and feedback received from those candidates, the specific company did not really matter, but a) their expertise and b) their performance during recruiting.

Hope this helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Was this answer helpful?
Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 12, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi, to make a better decision it is important to also consider the country. However, generally speaking, Oliver Whyman is better when we talk about strategic consulting. It is indeed always considered tier 2. S& instead in some countries is tier 3

Best,
Antonello

Was this answer helpful?
Anonymous on Jun 21, 2020

Not true at all. S& is top tier and better than OW in some regions like Middle-east, US and Australia.

Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 12, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

If it were me, I would pick OW over Strategy&. Not only for brand, but Strategy& has had a lot of issues since being acquired (changed) by PwC - it works for some, not for others.

That being said, you do need to also consider what you fit best with in terms of office, culture, people you've met, industry/function, etc.

Was this answer helpful?
Anonymous B on Jun 21, 2020

This was true may be 3 years back when things were a mess. Now we are stronger than ever and doing better than OW in most of the regions

Luca
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 11, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Hello,

Generally speaking OW has a stronger brand, but it depends on the country. Both of them are quite fine to join MBB later, but bear in mind that OW is mainly focused on financial services and has usually higher salaries.

Try to get some information also on the MBA policy, that would be an interesting way to get an MBB offer.

Best,
Luca

Was this answer helpful?
Anonymous replied on Jun 11, 2020

Hi,

Both have strong history of becoming a stepping stone to MBB, however, OW is more well known as Financial Services specialist while Strategy& is more diverse in terms of Industry. So that might help in making your decision.

Was this answer helpful?
5
Anonymous replied on Jun 11, 2020

Hello

I would add something to what has already been said, OW have a WW staffing policy, which could be awsome or a huge constraint depending on people ,...

You definitely need to think about that !

David

Was this answer helpful?
4
Anonymous A on Jun 11, 2020

What do you mean when you say Staffing policy?

Anonymous replied on Jun 11, 2020

Hi there,

Congrats on the offers.

Both are similarly good options - each region has different rankings in terms of prestige.

However, both of them should give you the same chance for an MBB transfer later on.

Best of luck

Khaled

Was this answer helpful?
4
Anonymous A on Jun 11, 2020

within MEO?

Anonymous on Jun 21, 2020

Hey Anonymous A, Strategy& is a tier up in the Middle east region when compared with OW and is equivalent to MBB (Bain is non-existant in MEO)

(edited)

Anrian
Expert
replied on Jun 11, 2020
Ex Kearney Senior Manager | Ex McKinsey Engagement Manager | Interviewer & Case Coach at McKinsey (200+ Real Interviews)

Hi There,

I see both have quite strong prestige and well-known brand. If you want to transition to MBB later on, both actually help you to transition better. In some offices, either one could be more well-known in particular industries (e.g. in OW in SEA - banking). So, that can be one of your considerations in picking either one.

Was this answer helpful?
Clara gave the best answer

Clara

Content Creator
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut
68
Meetings
24,221
Q&A Upvotes
147
Awards
5.0
57 Reviews
How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or fellow student?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 = Not likely
10 = Very likely