PE funds taking on consultants

Bain Capital - mainly Bain consultants Audax Group - a lot of Mckinsey guys

Francisco Partners

also a lot of the funds with "Sourcing Models"

Summit / TA, etc.

silverlake is bringing in lots of consultants to more actively engage management companies. I know a couple from McK, not sure about other firms.

all from M/B/B

Megafunds (that have given out offers before): -KKR -Bain Cap -Blackstone -TPG -Carlyle -THLee

Others: -Hellman & Friedman -Golden Gate -Berkshire -Audax -New Mountain -Advent

Would you guys second my impression that the crisis has generally increased consultants' chances of landing top PE gigs because analysts at BBs don't get the kind of experience and (modelling) skill set they used to (due to a lack of deals)?

No not at all. The reason consultants are being brought on is because of portfolio management. It has nothing to do with the experience due to the lack of deals, its the fact that they need consultants to work with the portfolio companies to help cut costs, right size the operations, improve operations, etc.

i agree with goalieman with one caveat. some funds have come to realize the value of rounding out their junior ranks with a sprinkling of consultants. if you already have 4 ex-banker associates in your office do you really need another modeling whiz? don't you want someone with some strategic analysis / due diligence / operations experience? as an ex consultant currently with an LBO fund (working on the deal side - not ops) my bias is that while bankers will always dominate this industry, it pays to have a well rounded team with a diverse background.

Honestly, I doubt it has anything to do with any of the reasons stated above. As a junior consultant 2-3 years out of undergrad you're fooling yourself if you think you're adding any value to strategic analysis, operations or diligence. The reason respectable PE funds hire and will continue to hire and seek out consultants from the top firms are simply becuase these firms are looking for the top percentile of qualified individuals and they're not stupid enough to think that smart people only work at investment banks.

Fortunately for me, I know exactly what my job entails and I know that it would be done just as well by a person like me or someone of equal intelligence from M/B/B with minimal discernibility.

To further expand on this point, you could also make the point that consultants have seen just as much of a slow down in their business and are not getting the experience that they would have two years ago.

Just wanted to throw the question of who would you say has a better chance of getting into a top PE firm and have better opportunities for upward mobility. A BB-IB Analyst or some McKinsey/Bain Business Analyst (both level entry and both with 2-3 yrs experience)?

As far as upward mobility, I think it comes down to the individual, not the background. Bankers and consultants bring different skill sets, but the banker can usually hit the ground running much more easily than the consultant due to prior transaction and modeling experience. However, after the 2-yr associate program I think that the skill sets have evened out and then it's all about the individual. There are highly talented people from both fields.