Orange County’s top management consulting firms experienced 9% growth to employ about 1,760 locally in the year ended June 30, many of them adding staffers.
The companies also combined for 19% growth firmwide to about 437,000 employees.
This week’s special report includes a list of the 26 largest management consulting firms in OC ranked by local employment.
One firm premiered on this year’s list; 16 firms added employees; five made no new hires; one shed staff; and the Business Journal estimated employment at four firms.
Management consultants have added jobs sporadically in Orange County since mid-2011, when most firms on our list held steady at 1% growth.
The industry bumped employment by 1%, 25%, 5% and 11% in recent years.
It provides an array of specialists in information technology, operations, strategy, and mergers and acquisitions aimed at improving the performance of businesses.
Leaders of the Pack
• Accenture remains at the top of the list, the perennial No. 1, with 298 local employees, up 1%. It added three management consultants for a total of 278.
The former consulting arm of accounting firm Arthur Andersen in Chicago broke away from its parent company in 2002.
Accenture provides strategy, IT services and operations services to businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
• Resources Global Professionals in Irvine retained the No. 2 spot with 231 OC employees, up about 3%. The company had 113 consultants, up seven from a year earlier.
The provider of specialists in change management, restructuring, supply chain management, and corporate governance changed its name from Resources Connection Inc.
• Solugenix Corp. in Brea climbed one spot to No. 3 with 23% growth, ending the period with 213 staffers.
The firm had 290 employees companywide, up 12%. It had 199 consultants in OC, up 14%.
Solugenix also recently placed No. 11 on the Business Journal’s list of top employment and staffing companies. It serves medical device makers and financial firms and provides support center staff to numerous companies.
• Experis in Irvine fell one spot to No. 4 with an estimated 211 local employees. The Business Journal also estimates the firm has 182 OC-based consultants.
The employment agency is part of publicly held company ManpowerGroup in Milwaukee, Wis., and focuses on providing IT specialists, engineers and finance specialists.
• Willis Towers Watson, formerly called Towers Watson & Co., climbed one spot to No. 5.
The firm’s office in Irvine grew 109% for a local total of 140 employees. The jump appears related to the merger with Willis Group Holdings, an insurance and reinsurance broker in London, England, that took place in January.
The company grew 125% firmwide to 36,000 employees. The local office provides recruitment and employee retention services.
Noteworthy
• Profit Recovery Partners LLC in Costa Mesa fell out of the top five to No. 6 with one additional employee for a total of 95 in OC. The firm provides services in IT, finance, personnel and logistics.
• Newcomer Tevora Business Solutions in Lake Forest premiers at No. 12 with 37 local employees and 16 consultants. It provides security to computer networks.
• One firm on the list cut OC staff. SM&A in Irvine now employs 25 here, down 36%, and also released six of its consultants to end the year with 10.
The firm provides on-demand staffing to the aerospace, life sciences, healthcare, construction, IT and finance industries.
• Another notable consultant is Blythe Global Advisors LLC in Irvine, which ranks 10th, the same as last year.
The firm specializes in mergers and acquisitions advice and has continued to add staff. It hired two in OC for 42 local employees, including 40 consultants.
“We’re continuing to see the business community expand here in Orange County,” said Marc Blythe, Blythe’s founder and chief executive.
He’s a former auditor at Ernst & Young and started his firm seven years ago to help OC business owners sell their companies, unload noncore operations, or increase operations.
“M&A and IPO transactions are up, with today’s deals being bigger, more complex and more risky,” Blythe said in an email. “That said, our clients continue to feel pressure from expanded regulation and oversight, and there’s confusion about the new accounting standards for revenue recognition and leasing.
“All of these conditions are providing an increased need for the kinds of non-audit services that firms such as Blythe Global Advisors offer so companies can meet ever more stringent examinations by their audit firms.”
