Editor's Note: Reassessing Arthur's Legacy

Whether you believe that Arthur Andersen's obstruction of justice conviction some 36 months ago was the by-product of an overzealous government prosecutor or a necessary comeuppance for a rogue accounting house, that action and the lethal blow it delivered have released some powerful energy into the consulting world.
Take heart: This is not another salute to the all-giving consulting gods of Sarbanes-Oxley. The energy we're talking about belongs to a new class of consulting leaders. These are people driven as much by their own unique career goals as they are by the fires of redemption. Such fires are now igniting the ambitions of numerous leaders who once toiled within the house of Andersen. Seek out any former Arthur Andersen partner these days, and you'll be face-to-face with a seasoned professional whose wild-eyed hunger for success makes him appear 20 years younger.
It's just this mix of gray hair and youthful ambition that has given the consulting profession a shot in the arm, and propelled two Andersen disciples to land on our annual Top 25 list. This year, former Arthur Andersen partners Gary Holdren (Huron Consulting chairman and CEO) and Michael Travis (Hitachi Consulting president and COO) are counted among the profession's most influential consultants.
It was only three years ago that Holdren, along with 25 other former Andersen partners, formed Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group. Today, Huron has more than 600 employees (up from 250 people in 2002). Meanwhile, Hitachi Consulting, founded in 2000 as Hitachi Ltd.'s global business and IT consulting firm, appears to be hitting its stride under the leadership of Michael Travis, who has to date overseen the addition of more than $200 million worth of consulting capabilities.
All in all, you cannot help but be struck by the multitude of consulting upstarts now being led by former AA partners. Besides the former AAers counted among our Top 25 rankings, you will also find within our pages in this issue an article about Protiviti, a $125 million, three-year-old firm founded by a tribe of former Andersen partners. Meanwhile, it should come as no surprise that two of the firms we designated as "Small Jewels" in our last issue are headed by former AA partners.