Last month, McKinsey & Company announced plans to expand its footprint in the Midwest with the opening of a St. Louis office, the firm's seventh Midwest location. The firm last expanded its U.S. presence in 2014, when it opened its Denver office. With St. Louis, the company will now have offices in 132 cities worldwide, employing more than 30,000 people globally. St. Louis is home to 10 Fortune 500 companies across a range of sectors and one of the fastest growing tech startup markets in the country, says Darryl Piasecki, McKinsey's St. Louis Partner. For Piasecki, who hails from St. Louis and returned to the area in 2008, the new office is particularly special. "I'm proud of what's happening in St. Louis, from the startup scene to the reinvigorated civic approach to economic development," he says. "It's a unique time in St. Louis, and McKinsey's excited to be part of it." Piasecki sat down with Consulting to discuss the new office, the St. Louis market and the opportunity for McKinsey.
Consulting: What's the status of the new St. Louis office right now?
Piasecki: We've got a physical office right now that serves as a temporary space and we're recruiting into that office, but we're also searching for a permanent space. I've been based in St. Louis over the last few years. Over the last year or so as we've moved closer to opening this office, I've spent more time there. There is tremendous excitement about this, and I personally think it's long overdue. This is an exiting time for both McKinsey and me personally. St. Louis is home for me, and I'm thrilled that we're about to launch this office.
Consulting: What process goes into establishing a new office in a new market?
Piasecki: It really comes down to two things: One, we see St. Louis as the largest and most commercially active region where we don't have an office; and two, people just want to live there. If you look at public companies, St. Louis ranks in the Top 15 or so for Fortune 1000 companies and it's also one of the top cities for private companies. Many of these companies we have been serving for a long time and many we have not. Also, if you look on the people side, we've had a number of people who have moved there in the past, including myself, and a number of others who have expressed an interest in moving there. It's just a great place to live. When you look at it from a standard of living and cost standpoint, it's a fantastic city with great amenities and a lot to offer. The Federal Reserve did some fascinating research on standard of living that factored in both per capita income and regional pricing and among 381 metropolitan areas, St. Louis ranked among the top 6 percent.
Consulting: I know St. Louis has also been one of the fastest-growing tech start-up markets in the country. Do you anticipate a lot of work in the tech sector?
Piasecki: The work in the St. Louis market, we think, will reflect the diversity of the companies that are there. And keep in mind, this is bigger than just St. Louis, we're looking at Missouri and the Midwest more broadly. The diversity of companies is quite broad. St. Louis, in particular, has a lot of Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrial Consumer companies, as well as that tech start up scene you referenced.
Consulting: What about the talent market in St. Louis. You mentioned that you've already started recruiting in the office. How's that effort going?
Piasecki: This is an area that has attracted a lot of younger talent and Millennials, as well as talent in some of the more cutting edge areas, such as digital and analytics. So, we're really encouraged by the available talent, actually. It's interesting, The Economist recently ranked St. Louis No. 4 for Millennial Talent—ahead of places like Seattle and Chicago, even.
Consulting: What type of capabilities are you looking for in those new hires, and how quickly do you think you'll need to ramp up to meet client demand?
Piasecki: We do have pretty aspirational growth desires for that office. We aspire for St. Louis to be on par with our other offices in the Midwest, such as Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland and Minneapolis. We expect St. Louis to be just as active as those other cities. In terms of the capabilities of the people we're looking to hire, right now we're looking for people across all levels and all roles as we're growing in these early stages and refine that as we go.
Consulting: Anything you can share with me about revenue or financial forecasts for the St. Louis office?
Piasecki: We can't share revenue information but I'll reiterate that we expect St. Louis to be on par with those other Midwest offices that I mentioned earlier.
Consulting: None of this is done in a vacuum, of course, and we've all heard talk of a recession on the horizon. Do you have thoughts about the St. Louis market over the next 18 to 24 months?
Piasecki: We do think about that. I'm not an economist so it would be a little bit out of place for me to try and project St. Louis' economic growth, but what I can say is that we are growing as a firm and we see St. Louis as a place where we see a lot of opportunity both in terms of clients and talent. More qualitatively, the things I see happening in St. Louis are really exciting. There are a lot of things happening in terms re-invigorating the area; there's a lot of development going on; there's a bid for a Major League Soccer team; there's a lot of momentum that will drive economic growth.
Consulting: Some of your competitors are in the area. What do you view as McKinsey's differentiators both in terms of clients and talent?
Piasecki: I think the reason they would choose McKinsey in the St. Louis area is the same reason they would choose McKinsey anywhere. And frankly, we already have long-standing relationships with clients in St. Louis. But the things that make us distinctive are that we're a value-centered organization, and we put our clients above everything else. One of our values is to improve our clients' performance significantly. We bring a global perspective and we can bring the best of McKinsey to our clients. Even when the office is small and still growing, we'll be able to tap into the best of McKinsey to bring everything we can offer in terms of people, expertise, tools and talent to the region. And, by being in St. Louis, we'll have a much better local understanding of these companies and how we can best serve them.
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