In 2005, A.T. Kearney was at a crossroads.

We’d merged with a technology consultancy in hopes of expanding our client base and services, but we’d lost our culture in the process. Many of our best employees were planning to leave—and many had already left.

So our partners faced a critical decision: buy back the company and restore what originally made it great or risk the consequences of maintaining the status quo.

A small group of loyal visionaries opted for the first. They believed that if the partners owned Kearney and recommitted to its values, then the consultancy, its clients, and its people would once again thrive. Turns out, they were right.

Since our earliest days, we’ve stood out because of our principles and our people. Our founding partners created a company committed to boldness, passion, curiosity, generosity, and solidarity, and it’s those values that we live every day.

Beginnings: a groundbreaking approach

In 1926, James O. McKinsey started a firm of “accountants and management engineers” in Chicago. He had the then-radical idea that accountants should not just tally expenses but instead use budgets as a management tool. His first client was Armour and Company, a meatpacking company that had recently been sold to a new owner.

A professor at the University of Chicago, “Mac” was analytically brilliant, but less of a people person. Recognizing this gap, he brought in Andrew Thomas (Tom) Kearney as a partner. Tom was a friendly, relatable person who could talk to anyone—exactly the right person to lead the development of the business. He also brought an expertise in marketing and operations that complemented Mac’s skills in accounting and law. And so began a partnership that would launch two of the consulting industry’s leading firms.

A merger with a rival firm, Scovell, Wellington & Company, saw the firm’s footprint extend to New York and Boston. But both sides had very different cultures and leadership styles and only two years after James McKinsey’s death in 1937, the company split into two, with one group staying in New York, and the other in Chicago. Tom led the latter, which took the name McKinsey, A.T. Kearney, and Company.

By then, he’d developed a distinct consulting philosophy based on the notion that consultants not only needed to offer advice to their clients, they then had to roll up their sleeves and help them make the changes—both in the board room and on the shop floor. It was groundbreaking at the time, and exceptionally effective. The firm embraced his advice-plus-action model and his leadership.

When the New York McKinseys announced plans to open an office in Chicago in 1947, there was some reticence on the basis that having two firms with similar names would cause confusion. The McKinseys bought the sole right to use the McKinsey name, and from then on Tom’s firm operated as A.T. Kearney and Company. By 1959, it had expanded to employ around 70 people.

Going global 

Although Tom Kearney was originally of the opinion that Chicago could offer all the work the firm needed, and that there was little to gain from developing a wider office network, Kearney inevitably began spreading its wings as more clients came on board. And in the late 1950s, it began testing international waters, developing loose affiliations with consultants in Western Europe.

Tom retired in 1961 and unfortunately passed away the following year. His handpicked successor, Jim Phelan, was devoted to the values Tom championed. But he also wanted the firm to grow, and under his leadership, that’s exactly what happened. By 1961, one Chicago partner was dedicated to international business, and in 1964 the firm’s first international office was opened in Düsseldorf, starting with one client, a small, family-owned garden equipment business. That same year, with just under 25 partners, the firm was formally incorporated.

The expansion continued through the remainder of the 1960s and into the 1970s, as the firm elected its first non-American partners, established investment promotion authorities in multiple countries, and worked to open China to Western development. In 1971, it began one of its most significant and enduring external partnerships, with the European Management Forum, now known as the World Economic Forum.

By the following decade, the mantra of global expansion and leadership had taken off. The company opened offices across Europe and Asia. Revenue hit $100 million for the first time, the employee count shot past 1,000, and the firm started to branch into new areas such as information technology, business strategy, and organization transformation, becoming the leader in strategic sourcing. By 1990, more than 40 percent of the firm’s revenues came from strategy work, and the establishment of the Global Business Policy Council in 1992 boosted its credibility with C-suite executives and political leaders.

During these golden years, double-digit growth was the norm. However, company leaders recognized that they needed to maintain the values that had gotten them this far. So they embedded them in the culture, developing company-wide programs that prioritized great client work, caring for people, and mentorship.

Culture clash, company crisis, and a comeback

Of course, hyper growth comes with its own challenges, including the need to adapt quickly to new capability requirements, and maintaining a favorable cash position. By 1995, it was unclear how the firm would tackle either of these hurdles.

And then things took an unexpected turn.

Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS), an IT services giant, bought Kearney in a 50/50 cash/stock deal. It had the IT expertise the firm was lacking, and deep enough pockets to invest in infrastructure. It was also keen to expand its presence in the consulting market. The merger worked well for the first few years, doubling the size of the consultancy and expanding its technology capabilities, notably in procurement analytics.

However, within 10 years a growing culture clash threatened the partnership. With the end of the dotcom boom, revenues started shrinking and cost pressures intensified, damaging relationships further. A small group of firm leaders proposed a management buyout—a gutsy move, but one that they knew was necessary for Kearney’s future success. They negotiated terms with EDS, and ultimately convinced the firm’s 177 global partners in 26 countries that reclaiming their company was the next best step.

At the time—November 2005—the firm had 2,500 employees in 47 offices. The company was by no means a start-up. But the buyout felt very much like starting from scratch.

In fact, the breakup paved the way for a breakout, and after regaining its independence, Kearney emerged with new confidence. Revenues increased by 50 percent, the global footprint expanded to Latin America, and the awards started flowing in. In 2016, the firm celebrated its 90th anniversary as one of the original consulting firms, while targeting new capabilities that would move the business forward. In 2019, Kearney secured its leading place in a now rapidly evolving and technology-driven consulting arena by acquiring Cervello, an elite business analytics and data management firm.

With the firm rejuvenated and looking ahead to the future, the turn of a new decade was an appropriate moment to reflect on how it should position itself, both out in the market and internally. Much had changed and evolved over the years, and there was a growing desire to represent not only its heritage, but its present and future potential.

And so in 2020, the company that had traded on the name of its first managing partner for so long shortened its name to Kearney, and refreshed its brand to reflect what clients have always known about it: that its consultants work side by side with them in a real and relatable way that other firms can’t match, making the transformation journey straightforward and enjoyable, and ultimately achieving their standout success. At the same time, it made the bold move to replace stock photography with crowdsourced imagery from Kearney colleagues, to recognize the global family of employees, alumni, and friends, Kearney Originals, the people that make our company truly original.