We Have Ignition: KPMG's Mike Nolan talks disruption and the firm's global Ignition Centers

Seemingly without end, the steady march of disruption continues in every industry. While this has been a boon for consultants, it can be a major pain point for companies. Today, many organizations are disrupting their own industries before change comes knocking on their door. To aid in that process, KPMG has opened a series of global Ignition Centers, where clients can work face-to-face with KPMG researchers, data scientists and other experts to view their workforce model changes in action. Consulting caught up with Mike Nolan, KPMG's Vice Chair of Innovation & Enterprise Solutions to talk about the high-level strategizing that goes on at these centers and how clients are embracing disruption through innovation.

Consulting: What is the main function of KPMG's Ignition Centers?

Nolan: At the end of the day it's about evolving our culture to be innovative, but most importantly it's about different ways of solving complex business issues with our clients. The Ignition Centers really manifest themselves in just that, standing shoulder to shoulder with clients around complex business issues while at the same time creating a culture of innovation within KPMG, which has actually led to opportunities where clients ask us to mirror what we've done in their own organization. Disruptions know no boundaries, so we have a global footprint around these Ignition Centers. Lastly, if we want to attract, recruit, retain the best talent in some of these very specialist data scientist/cyber/technology marketplaces we need work environments that attract that talent and enable them to flourish.