Top 50 Consulting Firms To Work For In 2019

Putnam Associates

SURGE OF NEW FIRMS FRESHEN UP THE VAULT 50

This year’s Consulting 50 features 12 new entrants, headed by GE Healthcare, which debuted at 15th. Long a mainstay on the best consulting firms in health care – along with ranking 19th last year for Prestige, GE Healthcare made the big jump into this year’s ranking thanks to high marks in Diversity and Innovation. The Analysis Group, a leading economic consulting firm, also cracked the Top 20 in its first appearance by placing 19th. In addition, Booz Allen Hamilton – the yardstick for public sector consulting that traditionally ranks among the 10 most prestigious firms – appears for the first time at 21st.

The Keystone Group (22nd), and ghSMART & Company (23rd) also made a major splash in their first time on the Vault list. In contrast, several big names skidded out of the Top 50, headed by Cornerstone Research, Jabian Consulting, and Marakon – all of which ranked in the Top 30 in 2018. Overall, 10 new consulting firms participated in this year’s consultant survey.

In the professional services industry, boutique firms set themselves apart with deep expertise in a limited number of specialties. In the consulting space, most boutiques house 100 or fewer consultants. That doesn’t mean they are also-rans or regional players. In fact, the Vault 50 boasts two boutiques – Putnam Associates and the Bridgespan Group – in its Top 10. Notably, Putnam Associates, a 30 year-old Boston firm that specializes in corporate and go-to market strategy in life sciences and health care, ranks 6th overall. That’s just .016 behind Oliver Wyman in a year when Putnam’s score rocketed up by .62 of a point. It is also a year when Putnam took the reins as the top boutique consulting firm in North America.

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