Hi community,
I have recently received an offer from a leading strategic consulting firm in the middle east. Since I know that the tiers are not the conventional "western" ones with T1-> MBB etc. I wanted to ask someone with experience in ME to rank the top consulting firms (i.e. McK., BCG, OW, Strateg&, Kearny, Bain, etc.). How do they differ (salaries/career progress/culture) and finally which ones tend to pay the MBA and at what stage?
Thank you in advance!
Hi there,
First of all, congratulations!
As a quick question, I'd like to clarify the objective here :P. If you've received an offer, why are you looking to compare? Can you let us know if there are 2 companies specifically you'd like to compare because you've received offers? Or, are you just looking to compare yourself to others? If the latter, this is a dangerous game! If this is your only interview + offer and you're happy with it, then take it and don't look back!
That being said, in terms of absolute ranking I would say:
Here is how MBB and T2 compare in the Middle East based on recent trends and news:
1. BCG, the hand of the king. They are simply dominating the market righ now thanks to the record-breaking win of 2017 with the biggest consulting project in the history: KSA Vision 2030 Strategy and Planning. They are the ones that are basically distributing projects for the entire consulting industry right now. No need to comment on their prestige and the quality of the work they deliver.
2. McKinsey & Co, because they are simply McKinsey. The brightest and biggest consulting firm in the world bringing the wolrd best experts to the table at each project. Again, no need to comment their prestige and the exceptional quality of work they deliver.
3. Kearney, underdog no more! They have been growing like crazy in the region for the 3rd consecutive year (+30% per yr) and are literraly smashing the market right now. They have some wonderful and bright people from around the globe and deliver reamarkable quality of work. They are currently heavily understaffed and could surely go for more.
4. Strategy&, formely Booz & Co, the Historical titans. With a bright historical presence in the region, the brand has been badly affected from the PwC acquisition as it lost many homegrown leaders to competitors. However, they finally managed to turn this deal to their advantage exploiting PwC wide range of services in many of their projects to beat competion. They are currently doing pretty fine rebranching to their prestigeous roots and are the biggest player in the region in size.
5. Oliver Wyman = Bain, Quality over Quantity. Both firms are still very small in the region but deliver exceptional work to their reduced selection of clients. They are pretty diversified in their portfolio and don't only depend on KSA, they are very present in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Even though they are the smallest in size, they do manage to cover a lot of ground from various clients, including PEs (pretty uncommon in the region). OW has been very focused lately on upskilling their workforce to the latest technology skills. The culture in both firms is great as you can truly feel a lot of maneuvering in the different career pathes both firms offer.
6. Roland Berger, a great European firm! The company has also been growing very fast in the region and is slowely installing itself as a reference for innnovation and insutrial projects. The exclusive European workforce and the entrepreneurship spirit make the environement really unique.
You can also mention Booz Allen Hamilton and Monitor Deloitte that somehow compete with the rest on certain projects providing good career alternatives to anyone interested in their core competencies (Defense, Cybersecurity, AI etc..). Please note that all of these players do provide MBA sponsorship to all their top performers as well as competitive remuneration, in this everlasting and arduous battle for talents.
Expert case by
