After earning my master's degree in Economics from Cologne University, I had a university career in mind, and so became a research fellow. But after my Ph.D., I decided academic life was a bit light on excitement, so I headed for strategy consulting. When I was looking for a firm to join, I visited the usual roadshow presentations of all the major players, but became increasingly concerned about the total focus on intellectual superiority – and nothing else. OC&C was the first and only company that seemed to combine brilliant minds, nice and relaxed people, and a good sense of humour. Consulting is a people business. While other companies also offer interesting jobs, I don't know of any that offer OC&C's unique blend of bright, friendly and sometimes a bit crazy people, who work hard to deliver highly professional results but still know how to party. OC&C is also a very dynamic place that offers a lot of freedom: there are few formal procedures, no limiting ‘yes, buts' when you come up with ideas, and virtually no limits to what you can achieve. What else could you ask for?
职业发展
我们致力于聘请最优秀的人才，并为其提供良好的职业发展道路，行业领先的薪资和广阔的成长空间。
我们聘请各种层级的人才，您的职位层级取决于您的经验和技能。我们期待这样的员工：强烈的求知欲，强有力的分析能力和创造力，良好的沟通和领导技能，对OC&C的创业型和参与型企业文化充满认同感。
我们没有任何'后门'可走，缺少才能及进取心的人将难以生存。这里的每个人都处于第一线，这是一个真正的精英群体，非正式的氛围，却又有焦点存在，既相互协作又充满竞争，足以培养出最好的顾问。只要您有能力，就可以期待早担重任，并取得更大的进步。我们希望我们每一个员工都能持续学习，不断进步，享受新挑战带来的刺激。
我们的新员工通常包括三种层级：以助理顾问身份加入的大学毕业生；以顾问身份加入的商学院毕业生；有经验的专业人员则有可能被聘用为任何层级的员工，这取决于他们的技能和经验。
“OC&C appealed to me because the firm is young and fast-growing.”
After my studies I became a management trainee at a telecommunication company in Hong Kong, but gravitated to strategy consulting in search of something less routine and formalised, and more intellectually challenging. OC&C appealed to me because the firm is young and fast-growing, which of course means loads of opportunities and the people are all so enthusiastic.
Working on an expansion strategy project for a beverage company in Indonesia where we didn't even speak the language was pretty challenging! It let me learn the foundation work of doing market sizing/competitive analysis, customer home visits in cities throughout the country to understand customer preference, visiting warehouses/distribution centres to understand the supply chain operation, and traversing a forest in search of a spring suitable for production.
OC&C is truly internationalised, and your team is never limited to your own office colleagues. I have enjoyed working with colleagues from other offices through the ambassador program, and learning about the different working approaches, cultural values and management styles.
I studied Chemical Engineering, with a specialization in Biomedical Engineering, at the University of California, Los Angeles. I then attended Columbia University for my Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering. After graduating, I worked as a full-time intern at a financial research company, before joining OC&C as an Associate Consultant.
As an associate consultant, much of my time is spent conducting research and performing analysis. One of the most interesting projects I've worked on was a retail strategy project for a US museum. We worked closely with the merchandising team to help determine a full strategy on re-vamping their current retail structure. After two months of scrutinizing their retail channel structure and store performance, we produced a detailed roadmap of recommendations – and I have been fortunate enough to witness the implementation of a number of them!
Working at OC&C has been really enjoyable, mostly because there is a very collegial feel within the company. Everyone is vibrant, engaging and relaxed. At the same time, the high caliber of employees provides for a dynamic yet challenging environment. Each of my colleagues represents a potential wealth of information, and the international culture of OC&C in the heart of New York City provides the best of both worlds.
“The variety and vibrancy of strategy consulting.”
Before joining OC&C Greater China in 2007 as a Consultant, I'd had a spell with another strategic consulting firm, managed a manufacturing company, and taken an MBA at INSEAD.
I left consulting for industry after business school to see how strategic initiatives turn into results. The experience was very rewarding, but I found myself missing the variety and vibrancy of strategy consulting, so returned to consulting with OC&C. The relatively small size of the Greater China office highlighted the value of peer support, and I get plenty from my colleagues, who are all highly professional and fun.
There's no such thing as a typical day, but the reality varies from a quiet day in the office preparing for a board presentation to running around in Changsha interviewing disco operators and studying how consumers drink. One constant would be the airport, which I visit on average twice a week, going to places throughout China and South East Asia I'd have little chance of visiting otherwise!
After my studies, I worked for four years in a consultancy that specialised in retail, managing such various assignments as corporate strategy to the implementation of IT systems for leading retailers in Europe.
A friend of mine told me that strategy consulting is like bringing clarity to a dark environment. I think this is very true: We do help clients get out of their “cave” and see outside of their current world of business, helping them enter into or try new markets, reshape their business model or build partnerships.
At OC&C, I think what really makes us different is our team spirit, built around core values like respect, merit, and excellence in work. There are a lot of collective work partners involved in issue analysis, sharing their experience with the most junior consultants.
Herman Heijmerikx (1985) graduated in Applied Physics from Twente University, his degree work including a research internship at the University of California at Berkeley. He was a member of the team behind his university’s 2007 ‘Bedrijvendagen’ business event, and travelled to Russia, Mongolia and China with his student association, Arago. Herman joined OC&C in September 2011.
‘I knew some of the people at OC&C and their enthusiasm convinced me to apply for a work placement. I was accepted and in the summer of 2010 I worked in two OC&C project teams – one analysing a transport and storage firm in edible oils that was up for sale, the second investigating the outlook for a manufacturer of ready meals on behalf of a potential investor.
That experience clinched it for me: this was where I wanted to be. I greatly enjoyed the type of work, and I especially enjoyed the people at OC&C – they were a great bunch: young, energetic, driven, eager to learn and fun to be with. Also, as a team we were working on projects with immediate client impact.
I had a fantastic start at OC&C. Only two weeks after joining, I went to Chicago for the firm’s international training week. When I got back from the States, I was assigned to a team looking into partnership options for two public service providers. My next project involved designing a strategy for a food products manufacturer.’
"You spend your time with a team of very bright and highly motivated colleagues”
In addition to the variety and constantly changing challenges, the great thing about OC&C is the steep learning curve.
At Partner level you have to learn to negotiate a highly political environment, to juggle many topics at the same time, identify and develop starting point for new projects, take total responsibility for clients and to act as a true entrepreneur.
As a consultant, you probably spend 60-70% of your time on the computer, solving analytical problems, and perhaps 30-40% at client and team meetings. As a partner, you’re dealing with not one but two, three or four clients at the same time, and spend the vast majority of your time on direct client interaction.
“You can approach literally anyone for help.”
I joined the Mumbai office in 2008, with a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
One of the most satisfying things about working as a strategy consultant is the way it gives you the chance to get a real insight into a wide range of sectors before making an informed specialisation decision. It is immensely satisfying to see the ideas conceptualised by your team become the basis of change for the client. Other aspects of the appeal include the diversity of experience across different people, divisions and sectors, the challenge of coming up with game-changing ideas, and a chance to make a positive impact to the client's business.
But if those factors tend to characterise all consulting firms, I think the thing above all that really distinguishes OC&C is the way the firm places immense emphasis on the career development of every employee, while ensuring that they deliver nothing but the very best for the client. You can approach literally anyone for help. One more thing: pretty much everyone at OC&C seems to have an amazing sense of humour!
I started my career in consulting after completing my bachelors degree at the University of Pennsylvania. I took a slight detour and left consulting to pursue a product and business development role at a then-startup called Harmonix Music Systems, the creators of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games.
I was drawn to OC&C because the U.S. group had a startup feel, a strong team, and a compelling vision. I have stayed with OC&C for more than five years as we have successfully grown the firm because the talent and character of the people and the overall firm culture are second to none.
The associate partner role can be extremely diverse in its responsibilities. Success means learning how to delegate, motivate, and evaluate the efforts of the talented associates and consultants that OC&C hires - The upside is that you spend more time focused on your clients, understanding their concerns, interpreting their feedback, and growing into the role of trusted advisor.
In my view, consulting is most rewarding when I achieve that level of interaction with my clients and share in their professional success.
For me, the greatest thing about OC&C is the people – genuinely interesting, smart, reliable and enthusiastic individuals who are very much committed to delivering quality, and with a strong sense of fun! This is what makes my work at OC&C challenging and enjoyable at the same time.
From the very first day of my internship at OC&C, I felt that strategy consulting was a fascinating and exciting job. However, I assumed I would have to give it up some day for something more important, like family. But I now have two children and, thanks to OC&C, manage to combine an exciting and fulfilling job with family life.