West Monroe announces investment in European expansion, starts by opening office in London

Firm plans to hire 1,000 and establish additional European offices

CHICAGO, May 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- West Monroe, one of the fastest-growing digital services firms, today announced it is investing into a multi-year expansion in Western Europe. The firm will begin its expansion by opening an office in London this month. Over the next three years, it plans to hire 1,000 people in Europe and will establish offices in additional European cities.

The announcement is part of West Monroe's growth strategy to become a major player in digital services across the globe. The firm helps Fortune 1000 companies become digital by instilling digital operating models across their entire organizations. It does this through industry-led multidisciplinary teams that combine traditional management consulting, design, strategy, technology, and digital product engineering to drive quantifiable, financial results for clients.

West Monroe works with hundreds of clients whose footprint spans the United States and Western Europe—the firm is answering the call from clients to provide local, on-the-ground leadership, resources, expertise, and operations.

"Our private equity clients have asked us to serve the market there locally, but this is just the beginning—we will be expanding our services beyond private equity and our geographic presence beyond the UK in very short order," said Tom Bolger, Chief Strategy Officer at West Monroe. "The transition of companies to a digital operating model is a global phenomenon, not specific to the United States, so the market opportunity is huge."

Global expansion is a key part of the firm's short- and long-term growth strategy. Today, nearly 10% of the firm's M&A transaction advisory work—that encompasses more than 750 deals annually—is conducted outside the United States, primarily in Europe.

"As investors, we identified a significant opportunity with West Monroe, partly because the firm has just scratched the surface of its potential," said Kevin Brown, Head of MSD Private Capital, which took a 50% ownership stake in West Monroe last fall. "We're excited to support West Monroe in executing its growth plans, especially with this multi-year expansion into Europe."

The new London office, located in Mayfair, will initially serve current private equity clients and their Europe-based portfolio companies, and plans to increase to an employee base of 100 by the end of next year. It is actively hiring for several positions, including partner, and is evaluating acquisitions in the UK.

Unlike some of the firm's competitors, West Monroe's operations will be integrated internationally, allowing it to bring together the most relevant team members across local, industry, and functional expertise to solve a client's issue—but without the limitations of an office-based staffing model.

"We believe in keeping friction to a minimum when quickly assembling the right multidisciplinary team. This approach is a key differentiator between West Monroe and our competitors as we expand globally," said Chairman & CEO Kevin McCarty.

The London office represents the firm's second employee base outside of the United States, after it acquired product engineering firm Verys last year with an office in Costa Rica. West Monroe is sending a contingency of U.S. employees to live and work in the UK to help jumpstart the office and apply West Monroe's award-winning workplace culture to a new market.

Established in 2002, West Monroe has grown its revenue at a 30% CAGR and achieved national prominence by becoming a top alternative to the largest professional services firms. While many of its competitors specialize in either strategy or implementation—or in business or technology—West Monroe is built on the principle that all of its people are fluent across strategy, implementation, business, and technology. The firm assembles multidisciplinary, industry-led teams of experts who help clients become digital leaders in their industries at a time when digital leadership has never been more critical to commercial success. 

About West Monroe
West Monroe is a digital services firm that was born in technology but built for business—partnering with companies in transformative industries to deliver quantifiable financial value. We believe that digital is a mindset—not a project, a team, or a destination—and it's something companies become, not something they do. That's why we work in diverse, multidisciplinary teams that blend management consulting, digital design, and product engineering to move companies from traditional ways of working to digital operating models—and create experiences that transcend the digital and physical worlds. Connected by the 13 founding values that drive our culture, our 2,100 employees work collaboratively across the firm with the belief that our clients' success is our success. Visit WestMonroe.com to learn more.

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SOURCE West Monroe Partners