Fast growth sees BCG grow Indian organisation to 1,200 professionals
Fast growth over the past few years has seen The Boston Consulting Group grow its Indian country organisation to a team of over 1,200 professionals, says Suresh Subudhi, Partner and Head of Recruitment at the management consultancy.
Originally founded in 1963 in the US, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) established itself in India in 1995 as a management consulting firm. The firm’s first office in India was situated in Mumbai, which acts as the headquarters for BCG’s countrywide operations, supplemented by an office in the capital of New Delhi.
In terms of services, the firm specifically works with the senior management of companies in India, supporting them with the development of positioning strategies, especially for new firms and brands. In essence, the firm evaluates conditions in the targeted market and provides logistics for price-assignment, design, manufacturing, and product development.
Under a different service vertical, the firm offers support with strategic mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures. BCG provides such services for a wide range of industries, including automotive, construction, real estate, aerospace, defence, insurance, and even banking.
The firm’s India outfit is led by Neeraj Aggarwal, who was appointed Senior Partner and Managing Director in 2015. Aggarwal has over 20 years of experience in consulting, having engaged with clients across India, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North America. His experience spans the technology, financial services and consumer verticals.
Globally, BCG is one of the most celebrated firms in the domain of management consultancy. The firm competes with the likes of McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company on an international scale, generating annual revenues of $5.6 billion worldwide, operating with a total of 6,200 consultants.
In India, the firm’s operations have been growing at a rapid rate, having already crossed 1,200 employees in the country, and recording the fastest growth rate amongst the consulting firms active in the market. This number is due to grow even further in light of the firm’s plans to embark on a hiring spree over the next year.
As stated by Partner and Head of recruitment at the firm, Suresh Subudhi, “We will continue with a similar hiring trend. However, for the upcoming cycle, we plan to focus and increase our final hiring numbers as well. With our increasing needs, we will be exploring new pools. In addition to the current pool, we would be looking to expand ourselves to international schools, and plan to target the select few in the top tier.”
The firm is ramping up its operations in order to meet the growing demand for consultants in India, which has driven the management consulting market in the country to a value of $1.7 billion. BCG is competing with McKinsey and Bain for major contracts, particularly from the public sector, having recently won major restructuring projects for government-backed IDBI, as well as Karnataka Bank.
Competitors McKinsey and Bain are also exceptionally active in India, with more than 20 Partners each. McKinsey, according to its Managing Director for India Gautam Kumra, has achieved double-digit growth in India over the past year itself, while Bain has grown to have a presence in Mumbai and Bangalore in addition to its country headquarters in New Delhi.