Orange County’s largest management-consulting firms are citing increased demand for their services, as economic uncertainty fades for their business clients.
“The worst kind of economy for consulting in general is one where there’s broad uncertainty,” said Andy Peebler, head of North American sales at the Irvine office of Chicago-based Acquity Group LLC.
“That’s what everybody experienced a little bit in the 2009 period, when in many cases things got delayed and delayed,” Peebler said. “What’s happened in the 2010-2011 period—and certainly now—is that although the macroeconomic picture is far from perfect, at least there’s more direction. That’s part of the broader rebound.”
The 19 companies on this week’s Business Journal list collectively boosted local employment by 11% during the past year. The list ranks management consulting firms with headquarters in Orange County and others with operations here based on the number of local employees.
Firms now count 966 employees here, up by 95 new jobs.
The uptick represents a return to employment growth after a period of flat to decreased hiring.
Employment among management-consulting firms was roughly flat on the 2011 list, and firms cut jobs in prior listings.
Ten firms added employees on the latest list, while one reduced its work force. Four firms had numbers even with a year earlier, and figures for four companies were based on Business Journal estimates.
Rankings shuffled a bit, in part due to the introduction of some new listings and the deletion of some others.
Employment at the top three firms accounted for about 48% of the total.
No. 1 Co.
Irvine-based Resources Global Profes-sionals again took the No. 1 spot this year, with 207 employees, a 4% gain. It does business as Resources Connection Inc. and has 80 offices worldwide. The company’s growth in OC is in line with its firmwide expansion of 6% for a total of 3,075 workers.
No. 2 Hitachi Consulting Corp. gained 28 employees over the past year in Irvine, a 27% increase for a total of 130. The growth pushed Hitachi up from No. 3 on last year’s list. The Dallas-based company recently opened a Global Center of Excellence in its Irvine office, a measure to expand the adoption of Microsoft platforms and promote collaboration among Microsoft and Hitachi’s clients, according to the company. The firm has 116 management consultants here, up 25% from a year-ago check.
The Newport Beach office of Dublin, Ireland-based Accenture is No. 3 with 124 workers after it added 19 during the past year. Slightly more than half—at 68—are management consultants, up by eight from last year. Accenture has 246,000 employees companywide.
No. 5 Acquity Group had a strong past year overall, especially as the firm “got a lot of visibility” through its $30 million initial public offering in April and the process leading up to it, according to Peebler.
Acquity Group’s companywide employees now top 600, an estimated increase of about 200. The company’s Irvine office also got a share of the growth as it has increased headcount by 8% for a total of 67 employees.
“We’re a blend of consulting and e-business,” Peebler said. “Since the economic downturn, our clients are increasingly recognizing that direct e-commerce or additional investments in online marketing are really key strategies for their companies to move forward. So that has really put us in a good situation.”
The company has forged strong a relationship with University of California, Irvine, which “continues to be a great source of great incoming talent,” Peebler said.
The Irvine office of New York-based Towers Watson & Co. ranked No. 6, as it has kept its employee numbers relatively flat over the past year with 62 here and 14,000 companywide.
“I think we’ll see an uptick,” said Michael Fox, a managing consultant with the firm. “We’re seeing roughly a pretty good mid-single-digit growth rate in our work in Southern California. It seems to be across all our lines of business. Our clients tend to be more national and global, and that geographic diversification is working well.”
Three local consulting firms were new to the list this year.
Irvine-based Beacon Resources LLC came in at No. 10 as it made its debut, reflecting one of the largest employee increases among the firms listed. Beacon quadrupled its local employment when it added 19 people for a total of 25.
“We’re investing ahead of the market,” said Mike Kelly, partner and cofounder of Beacon. “We see opportunities right now to go out and get amazing folks. I believe that business post-elections is going to get better.”
Beacon has plans to open an office in Los Angeles and in markets in Texas.
“We want to have Houston, Dallas and Austin—if things go well—by the end of 2013,” Kelly said.
A sign of the Orange County economy’s return to growth mode, he said, is that the firm is now seeing more real estate clients.
“Several home developers call with potential interim needs,” he said. “We hadn’t worked with real estate clients in years. The market hasn’t fully recovered, but that’s an indication that the foundation of the economy is slowly building itself back up.”
Other newcomers to the list were No. 17 Private Club Marketing Inc. and No. 19 Level Five Executive Inc., both based in Newport Beach.
Private Club Marketing has nine employees here, flat from last year, with one management consultant.
Level Five Executive has five employees here, up from last year by three. The firm runs on four management consultants.
Download the 2012 OC’s LARGEST MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FIRMS list (pdf)
