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Bain refugees Three ex-partners of Bain & Company founded the LEK Partnership in London in 1983. Since then, the firm has expanded through Europe, North America, Australia, and the Pacific Rim. It has offices in 11 cities and employs about 350 consultants. In 1993, the firm's U.S. operation was merged with The Alcar Group. The resulting operation is called L.E.K. Consulting (known until recently as LEK/Alcar Consulting). Triad of business lines L.E.K.'s work is split amongst three business lines. In its Business Strategy practice, which accounts for about 50 percent of the firm's work, L.E.K. consultants and associates assist clients in developing business plans, assessing industry attractiveness, and competitor evaluation/benchmarking. Another 30 percent of the workload is dedicated to the Mergers and Acquisitions practice. In this capacity, L.E.K. performs services similar to an investment bank, including marketing and strategy, acquisition screening, and due diligence. Unlike I-banks in this realm, however, the firm does valuation analysis primarily based on cash flow (they also use multiples), and is usually paid on a fixed-fee basis. Indeed, some clients actually hire L.E.K. to complement the investment bank handling the deal. Since 1994, L.E.K. has been involved in over 300 transactions valued at more than $200 billion. L.E.K. also offers Shareholder Value analysis, representing approximately 20 percent of the firm's business. Across its three business lines, industry areas of expertise include financial services, biotechnology, telecommunications, internet, consumer goods, media and entertainment, and utilities. On the job Over half of all L.E.K. consultants are based in either the Boston or London offices. The firm is known to be unusually flexible in its international assignments – and employees switch easily between offices. The firm does not require its consultants to specialize in a particular practice area, though generally they gravitate to two or three preferred industries. L.E.K. consultants do travel frequently, but perhaps not by consulting industry standards. Furthermore, these trips are generally short in duration - on average one day per workweek (note: associates tend to travel even less). Associates (BAs) typically return to graduate school, while consultants (MBAs) can expect to be promoted to the managerial level within two to three years. It's all about image Always seeking to improve its image and name recognition, L.E.K. has recently increased its marketing efforts. One corporate endeavor, a branding study, yielded a consistent worldwide name and logo, new marketing materials, and the addition of periods in "L.E.K." ("We didn't want to be called "Lek," quips one executive.) The firm has also identified four ways in which to differentiate itself from its competitors: the use of fact-based analysis, a flexible and customized approach to clients, seamless international capacity, and time sensitivity (L.E.K. averages significantly less time per assignment than other firms in order to provide consultants and associates with a broad foundation of knowledge across many industries and functional areas). To enhance the firm's commercial viability, L.E.K. has also established a new advisory board composed of 12 renown professionals from the academic and business worlds. Publish or perish L.E.K. has adopted other initiatives to become more active in publications. Toward this goal, it publishes a shareholder newsletter and collaborates with The Wall Street Journal on a shareholder scorecard, a unique periodical that ranks companies by shareholder returns. L.E.K. also contributes to both the Harvard Business Review and The Australian.
L.E.K. seeks entrepreneurial applicants with a record of academic and professional excellence. Recent college graduates are recruited for associate positions, and MBAs are eligible to apply for consultant openings. According to employees, the firm looks for well-rounded candidates with a strong work ethic who are "smart, smart, and um, smart." While the employee count continues to grow at a 15-20 percent clip per year, applicants should be warned that employee retention is also on the rise. The firm performs on-campus interviews at several leading undergraduate and business schools, though it encourages applicants from schools outside of its recruitment perimeters. The firm offers five to eight summer (MBA) positions in the U.S.; the London office also has a formalized summer associate program. Recruiters report that the firm has recently increased its focus on the MBA summer program. Summer hires are given ample reason to return: L.E.K. reimburses its summer MBA interns for their second year if they choose to return to the firm. For detailed information on job descriptions and opportunities, visit the "Career Opportunities" section of L.E.K.'s web site, where applicants can e-mail questions and comments. Send or fax resumes to the recruiting coordinator at any U.S. office location. Candidates interested in positions in Europe are usually hired through the London office. Interviews are conducted in three phases, insiders say. The first round consists of one half-hour interview. Questions are "tailored to judge case and fit." In the second round, there are two 45-minute interviews with managers, and "there are more case questions, though they're still looking for fit." In the final round, candidates meet with three partners for a half-hour each. "These meetings are [to gauge] fit, though they will give you some highly technical cases," reports a contact. Sources advise job seekers not to stress, as "you'll start off just kind of chatting, and then you get to the case questions." Veterans say "the whole thing is kind of unstructured – your interviewer will pick up something they're working on at the time and walk you through it. They are trying to gauge whether you can pick things up and to see what kind of approach you take." One source describes the case interviews (for MBAs) as "similar to a pop quiz for a B-school class."
Young and driven Employees describe L.E.K.'s company culture as "young, intellectually driven, and intense." Though "it is in competition against firms like McKinsey and Bain," L.E.K. still gets "the best and the brightest" from "the best schools." They're a "highly sociable" group with "eccentric interests and an entrepreneurial spirit rarely found in consulting," insiders explain. "Our cases are much shorter than those at other firms." As such, "you're not going to get stuck on one case for nine months." Informants are also pleased with client diversity: "We work with businesses ranging from veritable startups all the way to Fortune 500 companies." Thus, "when you come off a case, they need to staff what comes in the door, so you end up dealing with lots of different industries and projects." Our contacts say turnover at the firm "is lower than at a lot of other firms," though "most people eventually move on to something else." An entrepreneurial feel Because "L.E.K. doesn't have the structure you find at huge consultancies, things are slightly different," say insiders. "There's a more entrepreneurial feel to it than at more established companies." MBA grads like the fact that "you have immediate management responsibility. You structure the work, delegate tasks, and analyze results." Undergrads value the opportunity for on-the-job learning, though one source is less than ecstatic. "Because we're a small firm," he opines, "they immediately throw you out to the sharks." Where the girls are Sources say L.E.K. is full of young people – "most of the professional staff, with the exception of the partners, is under age 30." "At all offices," say employees, "the young lively crowd bodes well for after-hours entertainment." At the same time, the firm is also "pretty family friendly – most of the partners are married with families." One source reveals that "they have even let a female manager work part-time so she could spend more time with her child." Despite this reported flexibility, "women and minorities are underrepresented," at L.E.K., which is typical for the consulting industry. However, insiders assert that "women do get promoted to top positions." The firm reports that women represent about 10 percent of partners, one-third of consultants, and half of all associates. A little traveling music As far as travel opportunities, consultants can choose between "international swap programs" and regular case travel. The former is "entirely voluntary and somewhat like a student exchange program," where consultants move to a foreign city for a six-month period. For typical case travel, "consultants average one night per workweek." Some L.E.K. consultants even escape the travel hell usually associated with the industry because "the M&A advisory services are rarely performed on-site." Fortunately, L.E.K. does not typically do operations consulting, so consultants need not worry about extended stays at client offices. Dress is typically formal, with dress-down Fridays in U.S. offices. In the London office, there's no casual day: "There are credibility issues when the consultants are so young," explains one source. On the other side of the spectrum, the Los Angeles office reportedly has casual days on Monday and "fantastically casual" Fridays, when "Teva sandals are the recurring fashion theme." Tough schedule Some insiders complain about insensitive upper management at L.E.K. "Management used to not give a damn about how hard people worked," reports one former employee. "We had consultants working 80 hours a week, which is very high for the consulting industry." However, now "the firm gives you comp time if you work over 70 hours a week, so managers have to come up with a really good reason to have consultants work that hard." In some senses, L.E.K. is "like a typical investment bank: very professional, heads-down, and intense." In fact, one insider says, "on occasion, I have to remind myself that I'm not an investment banker." Still, the firm asserts that a typical work week for associates is about 55 to 60 hours (including travel time), while consultants clock between 50 and 55. Similar to its competitors, L.E.K. offers two weeks of vacation to associates and three weeks to consultants (which increases to a month in the second year of service). Not great perks, but great bonuses Salaries at L.E.K. are "above average," though "perks are minimal," sources confirm. The company is not going to subsidize your gym membership or your lunch, but insiders say "the lack of extras is more than compensated for by our annual bonuses." L.E.K. will also pay for your dinner and a ride home if you work after 8 p.m. Benefits include a comprehensive health plan, profit sharing, and a 401(k) plan. An adaptable review process To address some complaints, the company has implemented "a formal 'upward review' process to complement the traditional performance review process." The results of these reviews "are incorporated into managerial performance appraisals." Associates typically stay with the firm for three years: "They spend two years as associates, then they're promoted to associate consultant, where they're directing other people's work." Insiders say "not having an MBA won't stop you from succeeding at L.E.K." In fact, "some go straight through and become consultants." Says one contact: "We have partners who don't have MBAs."
Recruiting Coordinator
Monitor;Marakon Associates;McKinsey & Company;Mitchell Madison Group;Parthenon Group;Bain;Boston Consulting Group More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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