How are MBB firms structured in London?

I am currently in IB but looking to transition to consulting. How are the MBB firms in London structured? Are you a generalist, do you rotate or do you belong to a specific sector team? What are the sector teams at the various MBB firms?

Most Helpful

Team Structure

  • McKinsey (to my understanding) is more of a "get you specialised early" kinda firm, though you can still experiment a bit of variance early on as a BA/JA
  • Bain/BCG are the generalist types where you do lots of different things across sectors and later you are asked to specialise
    • there are some expert pathways available too, where you can specialise early if, say, you did Telco for 5-8 years before and want to stay there

Office Specialisation

  • Google should really be your friend for that
  • Short answer is: it's London, each MBB has exactly 1 office to serve the entire British economy, so we all do everything. Of course, the make up of the UK economy affects what our largest groups are (e.g., FS is big here, but Media/Entertainment is not). And each firm's strong point is just magnified here (e.g., we do a lot of CP/Retail/PE work)

If you have more specific questions, happy to answer, but for that second one, there isn't a lot to add.

Many thanks for the reply, this is extremely helpful.

• Are the PE groups separate parts of the business or do people just rotate into the PE group for specific projects / specific time periods?

• Do you have any insight into what sectors MCK / BCG are particularly strong in? 

  • PE Group is a little unique because it is both a vertical (mainly PE funds + some corporates & others) and a capability (mainly CDDs + some other stuff like post ac). As a result, we have it as a stand-alone ringfence, meaning if you are staffed in PEG, you do that for 9 months (no other case type in that time). We treat it as a rotation for ACs, but at more senior levels (e.g., SACs / Cs / Ms, etc.) it can be your specialisation / direct point of entry for experienced hires
  • McK/BCG strengths are those you'd expect, so for instance they each have much larger healthcare practices than us, and have bigger digital practices too. Everyone has a big FS practice, we're definitely doing well in CP/retail, but I think McK also does really well there, we lead in PE by a fair margin. As for other verticals, I'd guess whatever McK / BCG are better at than us globally probably also holds true here, by and large

Very helpful, thanks so much! Great to have someone like you who is willing to share amazing insights on consulting in London on this forum. 

Eos odit ducimus quis tempore odio. Eaque culpa doloremque tempore esse necessitatibus necessitatibus ut.

Eum omnis qui et voluptatum dolorem. Reiciendis iure culpa voluptatum doloremque numquam ut modi. Nemo consequatur delectus molestiae tenetur.

Id cupiditate id non et voluptatem numquam. Rerum aliquid quia aliquid natus expedita molestiae. Laborum soluta et nihil facere non eligendi quasi dolor.

Voluptate repudiandae molestiae consequuntur ad. Quo itaque qui excepturi occaecati natus. Eos ex iste rem dolor velit explicabo enim corporis. Eius id officia qui et et optio officiis. Fuga sequi porro quos enim sed blanditiis dolorum. Et ut doloremque doloremque voluptatem voluptatem facilis quae. Molestiae quo officia sed voluptates aut in et necessitatibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2023 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2023 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • Cornerstone Research 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.7%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2023 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • Alvarez & Marsal 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2023 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $368
  • Principal (25) $277
  • Director/MD (53) $265
  • Vice President (46) $244
  • Engagement Manager (95) $223
  • Manager (148) $169
  • 2nd Year Associate (153) $139
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (108) $130
  • Senior Consultant (323) $130
  • Consultant (576) $119
  • NA (15) $119
  • 1st Year Associate (527) $118
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (140) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (319) $101
  • Associate Consultant (161) $97
  • 1st Year Analyst (1023) $87
  • Intern/Summer Associate (184) $84
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (513) $68
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”