Big name consultancies get new global leaders in 2019

As the first month of the year draws to a close, already three of the world’s foremost global consultancies have named new chiefs and leaders to take over now or in the months ahead; EY, Accenture and Mercer

While the companies and circumstances diverge in certain respects, three of the world’s largest and most prominent consulting firms have already so far this year elevated or elected new global leaders; Martine Ferland as Mercer’s next President and CEO; Carmine Di Sibio to take over as head of EY; and David Rowland, named Accenture’s interim chief following the resignation of Pierre Nanterme for health reasons.

In the most recent announcement, Martine Ferland has been appointed to take the helm at Mercer – one of the world’s leading human capital consultancies – from the beginning of March, replacing incumbent CEO Julio Portalatin who has held the top role since 2012 and will now join Mercer parent Marsh & McLennan as a vice president. Ferland has been with the firm for eight years, currently serving as its Group President.

“Martine is a talented executive who possesses broad global experience and a proven record of success.  Her deep understanding of our business and clients, and more than 30 years of experience across the health, wealth and career spectrum, has uniquely prepared her for the challenge,” said Dan Glaser, CEO and President of Marsh & McLennan – alongside Oliver Wyman, also home also to insurance brokerage risk management firm Marsh, which recently launched a dedicated China desk in Dubai.

Just one week previous, prior to the commencement of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Big Four professional services firm Ernst & Young announced Camine Di Sibio as its newly elected Global Chairman and CEO following current CEO Mark Weinberger’s decision to step down at the beginning of July, two years into his second four-year term. A noted driver of innovation at EY, Di Sibio presently serves as the firm’s Global Managing Partner - Client Service, originally joining EY in 1985.

“Carmine is an outstanding and inclusive leader who has a foundation in audit and in serving the largest EY clients,” Weinberger said of his experienced incoming successor. “He is a leader who understands the importance of diverse and inclusive teams, and he knows how to engage people to reach their full potential. I believe the organisation has made an exceptional choice, and Carmine is the right EY Global Chairman and CEO in these transformative times.”

Meanwhile, earlier this month, professional services juggernaut Accenture named former Chief Financial Officer and 35-year company veteran David Rowland as its interim CEO effective immediately in the wake of Pierre Nanterme resignation due to health reasons, with Nanterme having been at the helm since 2011. While Rowland only takes over in the interim for now, his previous position has already been filled by former Finance Operations Managing Director KC McClure.

“I know that David’s significant involvement in developing and delivering our growth strategy to rotate our business to new, high-growth areas of digital, cloud and security, and his tenure as a highly respected senior leader and developer of talent, will make this transition seamless,” Nanterme said, noting that for his entire 36-year career, the now Accenture advisor has “never been more confident” in the firm’s “business strategy, leadership team and people”.

Elsewhere at the top

With all of McKinsey, A.T. Kearney and Bain & Company welcoming new global leaders in just the past twelve month – Kevin Sneader as Global Managing Partner at McKinsey and Alex Liu and Manny Maceda in the corresponding roles at Bain and A.T. Kearney – there is still some potential movement elsewhere at the top of the consulting tree in the year ahead, including the as to the expectation that long-serving Cognizant CEO Francisco D’Souza will step down some time in 2019.

Elsewhere among the Big Four and leading strategy and management consultancies, Deloitte Global CEO Punit Renjen will be up for four-year reelection this year, while KPMG and PwC heads Bill Thomas and Bob Moritz will enter into their third and fourth years respectively. The BCG partnership, under the firm’s ‘one partner, one vote’ policy, reelected Rich Lesser for a third term as CEO last year, as did Roland Berger’s partnership for Charles-Edouard Bouée’s second term at the top. Of the biggest ten or so firms by consulting revenue, Capgemini head Paul Hermelin is perhaps the longest serving, holding the CEO role since 2001.