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Roland Berger Opens Fifth China Office in Guangzhou Monadnock Research - 15 May 2012 Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has opened a new office in Guangzhou in the south Chinese province of Guangdong. The firm now has five offices in Greater China, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and a total of 49 offices in 35 countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and the Middle East. The Guangzhou office joins the existing regional locations serving clients in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei. The presence in Guangdong Province provides the firm's clients with a new and accessible office in South China. Roland Berger notes that it is the first among its global strategy-specialist peers at McKinsey, Bain, BCG and Booz & Co. to open an office in Guangdong Province. . . . More Ousted Yahoo! CEO Blames Heidrick & Struggles in Fake Education Credential Fiasco Monadnock Research (Vol V, No 11) - 14 May 2012 Yahoo's CEO is the latest executive to get caught in a "falsified education credentials" (FEC) scandal. Scott Thompson, Yahoo!'s former CEO, resigned that position and his Board seat for undisclosed personal reasons after his attempt to blame Heidrick & Struggles backfired. Thompson's misconduct remains under investigation for making a false claim that he had a degree in Computer Science from a small Massachusetts-based institution. That school, Stonehill College, was not granting Computer Science degrees when Thompson graduated with a claimed dual Accounting/Computer Science major. Even after having the misrepresentation brought to his attention, Thompson attempted to down-play it by shifting blame to a junior associate at Heidrick & Struggles, the executive search firm that managed his 2004 placement at PayPal. Thompson allegedly claimed he was unaware of the bogus education claims in his bios since then, despite obvious evidence to the contrary in recent SEC filings. Heidrick & Struggles, who was not involved in Thompson's appointment at Yahoo!, took the extraordinary step of providing Yahoo!'s management with confidential information refuting Thompson's claims of its involvement in the FEC misstatement. The £200 million UK judgment against Hewlett Packard related to a former SHL Systemshouse/EDS employee's fake education assertions highlights the risks facing companies that do not properly vet even lower-level job candidates. (Research Note includes MR perspective, supporting documents and details on professional services litigation related to falsified education credentials.) (1,835 words) . . . More Driver Group Buys Dispute Resolution and Contract Advisory, Trett Consulting Monadnock Research - 14 May 2012 Grontmij N.V. has sold its dispute resolution and contractual advisory firm, Trett Consulting, to Driver Group Plc. Trett's services were considered non-core to Grontmij's operations that are focused on the delivery of Engineering consulting. The firm says the disposal further facilitates Grontmij's focus on profitable organic growth. Prior to the transaction Driver's operations were in the UK, Africa and the Middle East. The acquisition fuels its global strategic expansion, particularly within the Netherlands and US. (315 words) . . . More Hong Kong Proposes Regulatory Changes Making IPO Advisors Criminally Liable for Faulty Due Diligence Monadnock Research (Vol V, No 10) - 9 May 2012 Hong Kong's security regulator has proposed changes that would extend criminal liability to IPO "sponsors" that knew, or should have known, that their clients were lying to investors during the initial public offering process. While the impact on sponsors is significant, it will also have implications for their services partners and client organizations. The proposed rule changes call for sponsors to be responsible for understanding all representations of their clients, even if the activities undertaken to achieve that are performed by others, including financial, management, legal, systems and valuation advisors, and other expert and non-expert third-parties. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has been the largest IPO market in the world for the last three years. The surge in IPOs has fueled cases of firms rushing IPOs to market, even before the due diligence of dubious sponsors and advisors was completed. The proposal suggests steps to address that, and warns of a plan to step-up enforcement actions against consultancies, audit firms and law firms using existing statutes. This Research Note includes a summary of key implications for sponsors, service providers and client organizations seeking sources of capital in the Hong Kong market. Research includes a PDF of the proposed rules in full text. (4,000 words) . . . More Confidentiality Breach by Martin Marietta and its Advisors Halts Vulcan Hostile Takeover Bid Monadnock Research (Vol V, No 9) - 9 May 2012 Martin Marietta Materials, and its M&A, PR and antitrust advisors, were found to have routinely violated the terms of confidentiality agreements signed with Vulcan Materials Company related to a proposed friendly merger that ultimately turned into an attempted hostile takeover. The controversial remedy issued by the Delaware Court is a 4-month "standstill" order that forecloses any reasonable possibility that Martin Marietta would be able to take control of Vulcan in a hostile bid for a year or more. This Research Note includes the 135 page opinion and summarizes key issues associated with the confidentiality breach, details on the advisors, and why the court took the extraordinary step of blocking a hostile takeover as a consequence for unethical acts in violation of contractual agreements, when an anticipated worst case scenario of monetary damages would have paled in comparison to the gains to be realized in Martin Marietta's hostile take-over of Vulcan. (1,085 words) . . . More Consulting Leadership News: Accenture, Roland Berger, CSC, Deloitte, North Highland, Segal, Celerant and Navigant Monadnock Research - 13 May 2012 Accenture names Giles C. Pélisson as Board member. Roland Berger hires leaders of Kline & Co. Energy practice; Appoints William R. Downey Jr. and Jonathan Goldhill as Partners, and Gillian Morris as Principal. CSC appoints Paul Saleh as Vice President and CFO; Jon Love as Vice President NPS Defense Group. Deloitte names Deborah DeHaas as Chief Inclusion Officer; DTTL Global CEO Barry Salzberg appointed Chairman Worldwide United Way. North Highland appoints Valerie Barckhoff as Vice President in its Atlanta Healthcare practice and David Reiling as Executive Vice President , International. Robert Kurak joins Segal as Vice President and Consulting Actuary; Joanne T. Burns joins as Senior Vice President and National Communications Practice Leader. Maarten van Hasselt joins Celerant Consulting as Senior Vice President and Americas Energy Sector Leader. Alba Avila Quintana, Patrick J. McArdle and Alma Angotti join Navigant's AML Practice as Directors (1,975 words) . . . More Deloitte Completes Acquisition of Restructuring Advisor, CRG Partners Monadnock Research - 30 April 2012 Deloitte has completed its previously announced acquisition of financial restructuring, turnaround management and bankruptcy reorganization specialist, CRG Partners. Deloitte acquired substantially all of New York-based CRG's assets, marking a major expansion of the Deloitte Financial Advisory Services subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Deloitte's Reorganization Services Group and former CRG professionals will now operate under the name Deloitte Corporate Restructuring Group (Deloitte CRG). William Snyder will co-lead the practice with Sheila Smith, the group's former practice leader. (340 words) . . . More Infosys Accused of Over-Billing Clients and Falsifying Documents in US Visa Manipulation Case Monadnock Research (Vol V, No 8) - 16 April 2012 A civil lawsuit filed in US Federal court in Alabama against Infosys is about to turn into a nightmare for the firm, and likely for other India-headquartered consulting and IT service providers. Infosys stands accused of 6 civil charges by one of its consultants, associated with improperly using B-1 visas for workers coming into the US to work. The scheme alleged by Palmer was that for a foreign Infosys consultant to obtain a B-1 visa, an American employee of Infosys had to write a "welcome letter" fraudulently stating that the employee was coming to the US for meetings rather than to work on a client engagement. Palmer seeks compensatory and punitive damages on the charges. A US federal judge ruled against Infosys' request for arbitration in November 2011. The trial is scheduled to begin on 20 August, with a pre-trial conference scheduled for 20 July. Research Note includes copies of complaint against Infosys; Infosys response; and details on the allegations, the case, and claimed over-billing and client project labor import schemes presented by an Infosys consultant that would be of interest to customers of Infosys and to other off-shore service provider clients. (1,340 words) . . . More And in other news: Marin County, Deloitte Consulting, KPMG, BlackLine, Aon Hewitt and Northridge Monadnock Research - 14 April 2012 Marin County loses another stage in its battle with Deloitte Consulting. KPMG formalizes strategic alliance with BlackLine for balance sheet account reconciliation application suite. Northridge acquires Aon Hewitt's Customer Contact Monitoring group. (480 words) . . . More British Consultant's Death in China Now a Global Murder Investigation Involving Former Politburo Member, Family and Colleagues Monadnock Research (Vol V, No 8) - 12 April 2012 Neil Heywood, a British national living in China and working as a consultant, was found dead in a Chongqing hotel room in November 2011. The chain of events since then has devolved into China's biggest scandal in decades. The death was originally reported to British authorities as heart failure due to excessive alcohol consumption. Chinese authorities cremated the body before an autopsy could be performed, and the leader of Chongqing's police force subsequently requested asylum in the US because he feared for his life after allegedly finding Heywood had been poisoned. Today, Bo Xilai, a prominent member of the Chinese Communist Party's inner-circle, has been relieved of all his official duties. His wife, Gu Kailai, formerly one of China's most well-known attorneys, is being detained as a suspect in Heywood's murder, along with Zhang Xiaojun, and orderly in her home. This Research Note explores the relationship and influence Heywood had with the family of one of China's most prominent political figures, and how the consulting work of Haywood and others at Hakluyt & Co., HL Consulting, and Horas Consultancy and Investment, factor into the investigation into his murder. It also presents the associated charges that carry the death penalty in China. (2,695 words) . . . More BMO Financial Agrees to Buy CTC Consulting Monadnock Research - 12 April 2012 BMO Financial Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CTC Consulting, of Portland, Oregon. CTC Consulting offers advisory services to high net worth individuals, helping clients preserve and enhance wealth. CTC will merge with Harris myCFO, BMO's wealth management business serving US ultra-high-net-worth clients. The deal is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2012. (320 words) . . . More Accenture Completes Purchase of Analytics Consultancy, Neo Metrics Monadnock Research - 10 April 2012 Accenture has completed the acquisition of Madrid-based Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., a leading niche consulting firm specializing in predictive analytics and optimization. Neo Metrics' R&D capabilities and intellectual property will be integrated within Accenture's analytics portfolio, including Neo Metrics' advanced modeler, a tool that generates analytical models and insight from organizational information. Accenture says the advanced modeler will enhance this capability and will allow it to help clients rapidly analyze and predict customer behavior, and respond to key outcomes. Neo Metrics will also add to Accenture's capability around analyzing social network to identify and leverage hierarchies within online customer communities. . . . More Consulting and Advisory Firm Thought Leadership: Booz & Co. and Gartner Monadnock Research - 9 April 2012 Booz & Co.: The average span of control of CEOs, measured by their number of direct reports, has doubled in recent years. New CEOs are choosing to eliminate the Chief Operating Officer position. Gartner Gartner is reducing its worldwide IT spending outlook. IT services spending is expected to grow by just 1.3%, down by 80% from 5.2% growth in 2011. The firm expects global public services IT spending to be most significantly affected, contracting moderately in 2012 and 2013. Gartner also forecasts US government spending to be essentially flat in 2012 before contracting in 2013. (200 words) . . . More Heidrick & Struggles appoints Anne Lim O'Brien, Vice Chairperson, Global C&O and Board of Directors Practice; Names 11 Partners and 16 Principals. Monadnock Research - 4 April 2012 Heidrick & Struggles has appointed Anne Lim O'Brien as Vice Chairman within the Global CEO & Board of Directors Practice at Heidrick & Struggles. Heidrick & Struggles also names 11 Partners and 16 Principals. Partner appointments: Matt Aiello, Information Officers Practice - Washington, D.C.; Alessandra Bassetti, Consumer Practice - Milan; Immo Futterlieb, Industrial Practice - Munich; Jenni Hibbert, Financial Services Practice - London; Mark Kim, Consumer/Life Sciences Practices - Seoul; Michael Krot, Leadership Consulting - San Francisco; Catherine Lefebvre, Global Technology & Services Practice- Paris; Srinivas Maddali, Life Sciences Practice - New Delhi; Emma Porteous, Consumer Practice - London; Steve Stine, Global Technology & Services Practice - Singapore; and Ben Tucker, Education & Social Enterprise Practice - London. Principal appointments: Alyse Bodine, Financial Officers Practice - Philadelphia; Bill Bryan, Financial Services Practice - New York; Joshua Clarke, Global Technology & Services Practice - Boston; Michelle Doo, Education & Social Enterprise Practice - Hong Kong; Julian Ha, Legal, Risk Compliance & Government Affairs Practice - Washington, D.C.; Yuki Handa, Global Technology & Services Practice - Tokyo; Rachel Metson, Education & Social Enterprise Practice - Wellington, New Zealand; Renee Neri, Financial Services Practice - New York; Henry Osborn, Consumer Practice - Tokyo; Michael Otte, Supply Chain/Industrial Practices - Atlanta; Christian Roedermund, Consumer Practice - Dusseldorf; Stephen Schwanhausser, Marketing, Sales & Strategy Officers Practice - New York; Kerry Shepherd, Education & Social Enterprise Practice - London; Niren Thanky, Life Sciences Practice - London; Yu-Chieh Wang, Life Sciences Practice - Atlanta; and Jeremy Zeman, Financial Services Practice - Chicago.(375 words) . . . More Capita Acquires Bluefin Corporate Consulting from AXA Monadnock Research - 4 April 2012 Capita plc will acquire UK-based Bluefin Corporate Consulting from AXA for £50 million in cash, and no assumption of debt. Bluefin provides employee benefits consulting to large and mid-sized corporations. It will be combined with Capita's corporate pensions consulting business, Capita Hartshead. The transaction excludes Bluefin's general insurance and wealth management business. Bluefin Corporate Consulting's CEO, Nick Burns, will join Capita as CEO of the combined Bluefin/Capita Hartshead business. (370 words) . . . More Deloitte to Acquire Turnaround Advisor, CRG Partners Monadnock Research - 3 April 2012 Deloitte has reached an agreement to purchase CRG Partners, a turnaround and restructuring advisory specialist. CRG is a leading provider of operational and financial restructuring services, based in New York. This marks a major expansion of the financial restructuring, turnaround management and bankruptcy reorganization practices of the Deloitte Financial Advisory Services subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. The CRG acquisition expands Deloitte's global professionals in associated practice areas by just under 6 percent. (310 words) . . . More Ford Consulting Group Acquired by Geosyntec Monadnock Research - 2 April 2012 Geosyntec Consultants has acquired Ford Consulting Group Ltd., a leading UK-based contaminated land consultancy. The firm will be branded Ford Consulting Group, a Geosyntec Company. The FCG team has 14 hydrogeologists, engineers, and environmental scientists based in Delph, U.K., with a satellite location in Dublin, Ireland. They join Geosyntec's team of more than 900 engineers, scientists, and other specialists serving clients from 50 offices in the US, Canada, Europe, Malaysia, and Australia. (360 words) . . . More Saint Consulting Granted License to Kill Real Estate Development Projects by US Federal Court Monadnock Research (Vol V, No 7) - 29 March 2012 A US Federal court in Illinois has dismissed all claims brought in a suit against the Saint Consulting Group and its retail client SuperValu. The verdict affirms the right of a consulting firm to work in concert with a client to block development of real estate projects that might also restrain competition, even if the tactics employed were admittedly "sneaky and underhanded". The charges involved two proposed commercial real estate developments in Illinois that were to be built by retail center developers Rubloff and McVickers. SuperValu wanted to block the proposed complexes because they included Wal-Mart and other large retail stores that would compete with its local retail operations that included Albertson's, Jewel-Osco, and Cub. Saint Consulting secretly helped SuperValu support the efforts of the proposed shopping center's neighbors to block the Rubloff development in city council and court proceedings that started in 2007. The clandestine actions of Saint and SuperValu were later disclosed in a Wall Street Journal report based on 3,000 leaked documents from a former Saint Consulting staffer. The consultancy advertises itself as protecting clients from unwanted competition, and touts its consultants as "Wal-Mart killers". The firm's questionable ethical tactics have made it past a significant legal hurdle, but challenges remain since the court allowed Rubloff to re-file the charges under certain conditions. Research Note presents an analysis of the client and firm implications of the court's findings, and the associated legal issues that include confidentiality, anti-trust, fraudulent conduct and conspiracy, tortious interference, abuse of process, common law fraud and conspiracy, inducement of breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, replevin and misappropriation of trade secrets. Includes copies of decision, complaint and various court filings. (1,570 words) . . . More Deloitte Acquires HR Consultancy, Aggressor Monadnock Research - 29 March 2012 Deloitte has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aggressor LLC, a leading consultancy that focuses on implementation services for Workday applications and services. Workday is a leader in software as a service (SaaS) enterprise solutions for global human resources (HR), payroll and financial management. The firm's Co-founder, Chairman and Co-CEO is David Duffield. Duffield also founded HR software firm Peoplesoft. Agressor's headquarters is located near Workday in Pleasanton, Calif., Peoplesoft's former headquarters. Deloitte says the acquisition elevates the firm as a leader in Workday HR and finance consulting services for transformational and technology-only deployments. (450 words) . . . More Consulting Leadership News: BDO, Accenture and PwC Monadnock Research - 26 February 2012 BDO USA names Wayne Berson CEO. Accenture appoints Michael I. Cole as Group Chief Executive, Technology; Chris Smith joins as US Federal Chief Technology and Innovation Officer; Vartan Dilanian named Managing Director, Russia; and Aimie Chapple voted MCA President. Ian Powell has been elected for another 4 year term as Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC UK firm; Appoints Margaret Cole as General Counsel and Executive Board member. (700 words) . . . More More News More Research Notes More Firm Research