Bain's India practice has grown into the most successful in its global network
A recent interview with global management consultancy Bain & Company’s Global Managing Partner Manny Maceda has revealed that the success of the firm’s India practice is unparalleled throughout Bain’s global network. Bain India grew by 50% more last year than in 2017.
In an interview with the Economic Times, the global head has confirmed what has been apparent in recent years, – that Bain is tremendously successful in India, so much so that the firm’s entry into India is exemplified within the Bain network as the epitome of penetration in a new market.
Bain first entered the Indian market in 2006 with four people – including Sri Rajan at the helm – and has since expanded so rapidly that it has become the fastest growing practice in the firm’s history. When Karan Singh took over as Managing Director in 2015, he asserted that he only anticipated more growth in the firm’s future.
Singh’s predictions appear to have come true, given that the growth story has continued steadily through last year. According to Manny Maceda, the upward trajectory will persist in the near future, particularly as the firm looks to adapt to the rapidly expanding digital environment in India.
Consistent with efforts across the consulting industry, the firm has been developing its capabilities in the Industry 4.0 domain, to which end it has been recruiting professionals with digital skills. The recruitment drive that has ensued has given the Indian practice a central role in Bain’s global network.
Over the last two years, Bain India has become the only practice in the firm’s history to recruit more people that Bain did in the US, which has been additionally facilitated by the firm's attractiveness as an employer. The growth has also been a consequence of competition within the Indian market, given that the Big Four as well as McKinsey & Company are also engaged in growing their India practices.
According to Maceda, the reason for this focus on India is a combination of a rapidly growing economy that has resulted in a growing middle class and a flourishing consumer market, as well as a regulatory environment that is increasingly conducive to business and foreign investment.
“Now there’s a track record that you can monetise the India opportunity and the company that grows here can win elsewhere. The reforms in the last few years have created more confidence in the outside world that this is a place where we can do business and there is some predictability that regulation won’t turn against us,” said Maceda to the Economic Times.