Fred Crawford
CEO
AlixPartners
Q: What's the firm's outlook for 2014?
A: Similar to 2013, we are looking for double-digit revenue growth in 2014, with strong contributions from many practices—including aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer products, energy, financial services, financial advisory services, and IT & applied analytics, as well as a growing stream of restructuring work, both in interim management and advisory.
Q: What specific signs are you seeing that suggest an increase in demand?
A: The challenge for our clients is creating value in a low-growth world. We are well positioned to do that, with our global reach, our small senior teams, our industry expertise, and our capabilities in growth, performance improvement, information management, and both operational and financial restructuring.
Q: How do you see the consulting profession evolving in 2014?
A: There has been a great deal of consolidation going on, with several significant firms being acquired. And there was also a recent piece in the Harvard Business Review suggesting that the consulting industry itself is now getting a taste of what its industry clients have gone thorough in recent years in terms of business model innovation. We are seeing that in all of our segments.
Q: Where is your firm today?
A: 2013 was a strong year for AlixPartners. Total headcount grew about 7 percent. A lot of our growth this year was in financial services and applied analytics, where clients appreciate our laser-like focus on results. In general, the consulting, information management, and financial advisory segments of our business—which together account for about 75 percent of our revenues—have been quite strong.
It's well known that the restructuring industry as a whole has been down ever since the Great Recession—mostly because of "amend-and-extend" policies by banks underpinned by the liquidity that governments created to avert what might have been a worldwide depression. However, we had our share of big engagements this year, including Kodak. We've also moved deeper into restructuring advisory work to complement our work in interim management.
Q: What are the biggest challenges?
A: There is still a "war for talent" in consulting. We are constantly looking for great people who believe in our distinct and unique model to do the important work that our clients value.
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