Social Media on the Sub-Continent

AMCF and member firms Tata Consultancy Services and Deloitte Consulting sponsored a forum on January 18th at the Nehru Center in Mumbai to discuss strategic perspectives and recent research on social media's ability to transform Indian corporations.

Among the presenters were Tonya McKinney, Director of Digital Strategy at TCS; Gaurav Mishra, Social Media Director at MSLGROUP; Uday Parmar, Managing Partner at BTL; and Dr. Siddharth Singh, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Indian School of Business. Presentations from the event are available to AMCF Members in the members' only section of the website.

Click here to go to the AMCF members only login.

Finalists Announced for 2012 AMCF Awards

AMCF is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2012 Awards celebrating excellence in consulting projects. We congratulate these outstanding client and consulting project teams for their important contributions as innovators and exemplary performers. Click here to review the consulting firm and client names.

Join your colleagues and friends on Thursday,  March 1, 2012, when we announce the winners at the AMCF Awards Gala, In the Spotlight: Celebrating Value & Excellence in Consulting.  The evening will start at 5:30 pm at the University Club in NYC and will include a sit down dinner with music provided  by the winners of the 2011 FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands competition, Ernst & Young's "American PI."

Click here for more information and to register

AMCF Member Navigant Aggresively Hiring Again

Consulting firms have been hiring again since 2010, many to build back capacity slashed at the depth of the recession. But whereas caution has slowed growth in many consulting segments, Chicago firms are hiring at a rapid clip, according to a recent article in Crain’s.  AMCF member firm Navigant went out ahead of the curve, increasing its Chicago employee base by over 10% for the year ending October 31, 2011. Now firms of all size and specialization are following suit.  Accenture, Huron, and KPMG have all announced intentions to add consultants in their Chicago offices. 

Click here to read the full article.

Sloan Award Winner Ginny Rommetty to be IBM's Next CEO

AMCF Member firm IBM recently announced that Senior Vice President Ginny Rommetty will replace Sam Palmissano as CEO.  An IBMer since 1981, Rometty entered the management ranks early in her career and helped build Global Business Services—the firm’s consulting practice—into the profitable juggernaut it is today.  She also advocated IBM’s acquisition of PwC Consulting and took on the behemoth task of integrating the businesses after the deal went through.

AMCF awarded Rommetty with the Carl Sloan Award for achievement in the consulting industry in 2006 and, moving forward, wishes her the best in her new post as IBM’s chief executive.

Click here to read an IBM press release.

Deloitte Acquires Life Sciences Firm Intrasphere

AMCF Member Firm Deloitte has significantly expanded its life sciences consulting capacity by acquiring the New Jersey based firm Intrasphere.  Intrasphere’s business and technology solutions assist pharmaceutical companies in drug safety and regulatory compliance. The acquisition of the firm by Deloitte creates a new Drug Safety and Regulatory Consulting Practice within Deloitte Consulting LLP, which will be lead by Principal Dan Ressler. “The addition of Intrasphere's capabilities to the Deloitte portfolio of life sciences consulting services enhances our position in drug safety and regulatory consulting and expands the foundation on which we will continue to lead this market,” said Ressler in a press release.

Click here to read the entire press release at Deloitte's website

IBM Continues to Build Its Analytics Capabilities Through Several Strategic Acquisitions

Since late summer, AMCF Member IBM has been on an analytics acquisition spree.  On the last day of August, Big Blue announced the acquisition of UK-based firm i2 to bolster crime prevention and anti-fraud services for both public and private clients.  The next day IBM announced it was set to acquire Algorithmics, a Canadian firm whose analytical-capabilities will "strenghten and expand IBM's risk consulting services" for clients in finance. And in October, IBM announced it would further enhance its security offering by buying Q1 Technology Labs.  The acquisition of Q1 will help IBM provide clients with real-time security data to combat cyber-theft of sensitive information.

Click here to read about IBM's Acquisitions

The Selection Committee for the 2012 AMCF Awards

AMCF is pleased to announce an independent panel of well-known, experienced executives from business and government as well as journalists and professors for the 2012 AMCF Awards Selection Committee.  This group will be actively engaged in reading, discussing and deciding on all submissions.  In addition to their expertise and knowledge of management consulting and client-related consulting projects, they were chosen based on their ability to remain unbiased and independent in their evaluations. We are very proud of the accomplishments, diversity and prominence of this group.

To read more about the committee and its individual members, please click here.

Selection Criteria for the 2012 AMCF Consulting Project Awards

AMCF has already seen some exciting submissions come in for the 2012 Consulting Project Awards and eagerly anticipate more.

There are five main criteria by which to judge submissions. Now these criteria have been drilled down into sub-criteria to give entry coordinators a better indication of what the Selection Committee will be looking at when reading submissions.  AMCF encourages submitting firms to use these criteria to further refine the points they’d like to highlight and put forth the strongest possible narrative of value delivered to clients.

Please keep in mind that the submission deadline is October 31st. Contact Jack Underwood with questions at junderwood@amcf.org or 212-262-3055.

Click here to read the Selection Criteria and Explanations 

John Furth Article Appears in Global Business Magazine

AMCF President and CEO John Furth has recently analyzed the consulting industry for an article in Global Business Magazine. Looking at markets both at home and abroad, and drawing on sources such as Kennedy Information and external scans from AMCF Board Meetings, Furth said we can expect modest annual growth--around 4-5%--across the industry in the next few years.  Furth indicated, moreover, that the battle for top university talent and a decent amount of M&A activity will continue as firms seek to build (or rebuild) capacity and strengthen their offerings.

Click here to read the entire article at Global Business Magazine

Announcing Confab 2011

Confab 2011 is the 34th annual conference of the Institute of Management Consultants. This learning, sharing and networking event draws consultants from throughout the United States and several foreign countries.

Key sessions include:

·    Why Do Some Companies Survive—Even Thrive—When the Economy is in the Tank?

·    Making $$ and Sense out of Social Media

·    What Clients (or Prospects) Don’t Tell You

·    Non-Stressful Sales and Marketing Techniques

Through a special arrangement, AMCF members will be able to register for Confab at the IMC member price. Those who register before the early-bird date of October 1 will save an additional $100.

Click here to register for Confab 2011

Mercer to Extend Health & Benefits Offering Through Acquisition of Mahoney and Associates

AMCF Member firm Mercer is set to acquire Mahoney and Associates, a welfare and health advisory practice based in Fort Lauderdale.  According to a Mercer press release, the two firms have signed a definitive agreement and Mercer should close on the acquisition by the end of August.  "This transaction allows us to deliver expertise through the most highly regarded brokerage firm in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area," said David P. Rahill, Mercer's U.S. Leader of Health and Benefits Business, "we believe this will be a highly attractive service position for the clients we now jointly serve."

Click here to read the full press release

In Wake of Recession, Firm Leaders Sacrificed Compensation and Lowered Prices

As the world economy started its slow recovery in 2009 and 2010, consulting firms were caught in a bind having to balance short-term profitability needs with long-tern sustainability. Data collected by AMCF for its annual OR Report showed that firm leaders took a unique approach and actually cut their own pay – in some cases dramatically - to achieve this goal. This, in connection with rate card and price reductions allowed them to keep a lot of their talent intact and productive. This strategy is paying huge dividends in 2011: as demand has taken off, these fully-staffed and well-oiled firms are the first to capitalize. More trends and analysis is available on the Members' only section of the website.

Click here to see more analysis and trends from recent OR  survey data through Member' Only login.

Virtusa Acquires ALaS

AMCF member firm ALaS consulting has been acquired by the worldwide IT consulting firm Virtusa.  ALaS’s consulting staff of 150 will bolster Virtusa’s offering in the finance and banking industries, and ALaS President Erik Digiacomo will lead a new capital markets business line. “This acquisition will further enable Virtusa to identify and execute transformational programs, take on the downstream technology implementation and strengthen Virtusa’s strategic position across its BFSI client base,” said Virtusa CEO Kris Canekerante in a press release.

Click here to read the entire press release on Virtusa’s website.

PwC to Acquire PRTM

AMCF Member Firm PwC has announced its acquisition of consulting firm PRTM. Working from 18 offices worldwide, PRTM provides operational strategy, supply chain, product development and customer value management.   In the acquisition, PwC significantly enriches its Advisory practice, receiving a new host of talent with a reputation for results. “We are especially pleased that the PRTM team of highly talented, globally-oriented professionals have chosen to continue their careers at PwC,” said PwC Vice Chairman and U.S. Advisory Leader Dana Mcilwain in a press release.

Click here to read the full announcement on the PwC website

AMCF Congratulates IBM on 100 Years of Innovation

On Thursday June 16th, AMCF member firm IBM celeberated 100 impressive years of operation. To commemorate the occasion, IBM set up a special website tracing the firm’s history of technological innovation and highlighting its ongoing contributions to a smarter planet.  For AMCF, the most important part of IBM’s development has been the swift ascent of its consulting practice, IBM Global Business Services, which has grown, over the last twenty years, into the largest consulting operation in the world.

Click here to visit the IBM100 site

AMCF Panelists on the Federal Government's Acquisition Process for IT Projects

AMCF's March 2011 program "Smarter Federal IT Initiatives: High Quality, Cost-Effective and On-Time" focused on improving the federal government's acquisition process.  The online journal Federal Computer Weekly followed up with five AMCF panelists, representing both government and service providing firms, to elaborate on their ideas for making the federal goverment's acquisition process more effective.

The featured panelists include: Steve Cooper, IT Director for the Federal Aviation Administration; David Swatlowski, an acquisition manager in the Department of Defense; Trey Hodgkins, Senior Vice President at Tech America; James Bryan, Vice President at The Center for Organizational Excellence and Kathleen Turco, Associate Administrator of Government Policy at the General Services Administration.

Click here to read the entire article at Federal Computer Weekly

Click here to go to the full writeup through Members' Login

SantaRomana & Associates Named "Amazing Entrepreneur"

AMCF start-up member SantaRomana & Associates has won the Atlanta-based "Amazing Entrepreneur Award" for 2011.  As the inaugural winner of the award, SantaRomana & Associates receive a prize package designed to help expand their venture and due recognition as an innovative consulting start-up in the Greater Atlanta region.  SantaRomana & Associates is based in Lawrenceville, Georgia and specializes in feasibility studies, business plans, and full-cycle project management for small and medium-sized businesses.

Click here to read the entire article

TCS Wins Awards in Europe

AMCF member firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has recently been recognized by a panel of CIOs in Belgium for excellence in IT consulting and as "Top 5 Employer" in the UK by the CRF Institute. At the Data News Awards in Brussels, TCS beat out 25 European challengers to become the first Indian-based firm to win Outstanding Outsourcing Company of the Year. 

The UK's CRF Institute, meanwhile, ranked TCS in the Top 5 UK Employers, giving the firm high marks in all categories including staff development and workplace culture.  For TCS, the awards highlight its growing presence in Europe as well as its high-standing in the eyes of business leaders.

Click here to read press releases about the awards

Social Media and the Voice of the Customer

AMCF and its partners Bloom Group, Research Now, and Bliss PR conducted a study to answer the question: 'Are consulting firms that use social media really making a difference in the marketplace?'  AMCF surveyed both customers and marketing leaders at consulting firms.  The results were somewhat counter-intuitive:

• Clients are using social media only in limited ways to identify consultants for projects; however 40% of clients surveyed decided not to use a consulting firm after hearing it mentioned negatively by someone or serveral people in online social networks.
• Currently, social media tools are most successfully used to drive people to thought capital rather than to create it, although there are some interesting examples of emerging "creation" models.
• LinkedIn and other private networking sites are more helpful than broader public forums.

These and other outcomes of the survey were presented at Deloitte's Boston office on April 28th for AMCF's Marketing Management Affinity Group. The presentation is available on the Members' Only section of the website. 

Click here to access it through the Members' Only Log-in.

Richard Metzler Scholarship Application Available Soon

In 2011 the Foundation for Excellence in Management Consulting will once again award scholarships to business graduate school students who exemplify a commitment to the profession, their community and to the understanding of the consultant's role as change agent.

The scholarship is open to anyone who is matriculated in an MBA program--in any year of study--as of the application deadline.  The application will be available in late May or early June and the deadline will be in November. AMCF welcomes both US-based and international applicants. Interested students should check the AMCF website for the application and supporting materials at the end of May.

Please click here for more information about the scholarship, its history, and past winners.