Ever since Cap Gemini announced its merger with the consulting arm of Ernst & Young more than a year ago, consulting pundits have sought to observe how the marriage has been impacting turnover within the firm's management ranks. Consulting recently asked Cap Gemini E&Y executive vice president NA Terry Ozan about whether the marriage was having an adverse effect on turnover.
CM: In the wake of this deal, E&Y's 700 partners became Cap Gemini vice presidents. Hasn't this made Cap Gemini top-heavy with upper management?
Ozan: It's a little more top-heavy compared to what we had before, because we're in the same business. And so there might be senior managers in similar roles. The business is the same.
CM: Wouldn't a publicly held professional services firm prefer to operate with fewer VPs?
Ozan: If your question concerns the title itself — the fundamental business is the same, and we need the same skill levels and capabilities, and you find this at the partner level. I guess I'd disagree with that.
CM: People have suggested that attrition among the former E&Y partners might be high, given the different nature of the two merged firms — one being a partnership, where partners once enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, and one being a publicly held firm where management appears to be more hierarchical.
More to the point, and perhaps a better question, might be: Of the 700 consulting partners E&Y once employed, what percentage remain?
Ozan: It's a very high percent.
CM: Now, a year after the Cap deal was minted, can you claim that more than two thirds of E&Y's partners remain part of Cap Gemini?
Ozan: Absolutely.
CM:Have you retained 80 percent of E&Y partners?
Ozan: Well, I haven't calculated it, but I think so. Yes. Seven hundred was a worldwide number. We never had 700 consulting partners in the U.S. And if you said 20 percent of the partners have left, I'd say I don't think so. As far as attrition at the partner level goes, I think you'll find two things. First, a relatively small percentage left when the dot-com craze was still running hot, but this was pre-deal. And second, since then, I honestly don't think that it's grown. Naturally, every year some partners leave the firm. If you're suggesting a third of our partners have left, it's much lower than that …
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