Phil Parr spent the bulk of his 20+-year consulting career at top-tier consulting firms, mainly the Andersen/Accenture combination. So, it isn't surprising that when he arrived at Hitachi Consulting, then considered a middle-market player, he was determined to drive it into the top ranks. Parr is widely credited within Hitachi Consulting for playing a major role in developing its current go-to-market strategy, which focuses on targeting brand-name clients, establishing long-term relationships with those clients, and addressing vertical markets. He is charged with reaching 1,500 Hitachi consultants in the U.S. and achieving double-digit growth by 2008.
"The thing I liked about coming to Hitachi from a big firm was the ability to really influence and shape the future. You can do that more at a firm like Hitachi than at an IBM, Accenture, or Deloitte," says Parr, who at the same time acknowledges there is nothing small about the consulting ambitions of Hitachi Consulting's $84 billion parent company, Hitachi, Ltd. Where others might complain about the competitiveness of the consulting industry, Parr still gets a kick out of beating the competition. "I get juiced about winning against the biggest firms. When we win an account from IBM or Accenture, that's just a terrific feeling," he says.
In addition to winning, Parr enjoys developing new talent: "I like watching the development of our people. I like to give them opportunities they won't get elsewhere."
Looking out on the industry, Parr misses the old partnership model. "Without the financial pressure of public markets, partners could invest in developing intellectual property. Now we still do thought leadership, but we have fewer financial resources for it," he says. But he isn't complaining. "No industry moves at this pace," he says. "You get 20 years of experience in 10 years."
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