In the world of management consulting, names like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain often dominate the spotlight. But just beyond them tier sits Kearney, a firm with a reputation for delivering high-impact strategy and operations work while maintaining a deeply people-oriented culture. With nearly a century of consulting experience and a presence in over 40 countries, Kearney careers are a great place to get your start in consulting and learn how to solve tough business problems.
Whether you’re starting as a business analyst or aiming to become a partner, understanding the Kearney career path is key to making the most of your time at the firm. With its emphasis on mentorship, collaboration, and hands-on client work, Kearney is an ideal place to launch and accelerate your consulting journey.
In this article, we’ll discuss:
- The different types of work you can do in your Kearney career
- The Kearney career path from entry-level to partner
- What makes Kearney’s culture stand out
- Growth opportunities throughout your Kearney career path
- 3 tips on how to maximize your Kearney career experience
Let’s get started!
What Does Kearney Do?
Kearney is a global management consulting firm with a history that spans nearly a century. Andrew Thomas Kearney, Kearney’s founder, was originally a consultant and then managing partner at McKinsey & Company. Following James McKinsey’s death in 1937, McKinsey’s New York and Chicago offices split. The Chicago office, headed by Andrew Kearney, became the foundation of today’s Kearney.
Kearney has steadily grown into a global organization with offices in over 40 countries and a global workforce of 5,700 people serving clients across a broad range of sectors. While the firm built its reputation in supply chain, operations, and procurement excellence, it also does broader strategy and transformation work.
Kearney’s core services are structured around several distinct capability areas:
- Operations and Performance: One of Kearney’s key capabilities, this area focuses on end-to-end improvement of manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, and overall enterprise productivity.
- Procurement: Kearney is widely recognized for its deep expertise in procurement and sourcing. The firm helps clients optimize supplier strategies, reduce spending, and build more resilient, sustainable supply chains to align sourcing with broader business goals.
- Leadership, Change, and Organization: An important lever for transformation, Kearney advises clients on organizational redesign and change management, often working on issues related to talent identification and retention, leadership, and large-scale transformation to support future growth.
- Digital and Analytics: Through Kearney Digital, the firm supports clients in embracing digital technologies, data platforms, and automation. The work spans from leveraging data and analytics to understand customer needs and optimize supply chains to designing digital systems and guiding organizations through technology-led change.
- Sustainability: An emerging focus, this practice helps clients navigate ESG regulations, decarbonization, and build sustainable operations.
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Kearney supports clients throughout the M&A lifecycle, including due diligence, synergy assessment, and post-acquisition integration.
In terms of client profile, Kearney serves both private and public sector organizations. Its private sector clients include Fortune 500 companies across industries such as automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, energy, healthcare, industrial goods, telecommunications, and financial services. In the public sector, the firm supports government agencies with improving internal operations and enhancing performance.
What makes Kearney unique is how it delivers its service offering. Compared to MBB firms, Kearney tends to adopt a more implementation-oriented approach. While it provides recommendations, it is equally focused on implementation, often staying engaged with clients to see those recommendations rolled out throughout the client organization.
Kearney Careers: Shaping Your Path
The Typical Kearney Career Path
Kearney careers follow a well-defined path, with each role offering differing levels of exposure and opportunities for growth. The usual Kearney career path is:
- Business Analyst (1.5- to 2-year tenure): Entry-level position for undergraduate and non-MBA graduates. Business analysts support consulting teams by developing analytical models, performing data analyses, and conducting research.
- Senior Business Analyst (1- to 1.5-year tenure): Senior business analysts take on a more client-facing role. Their responsibilities include conducting in-depth client interviews, developing analytical models, performing complex data analyses, and supporting research efforts across industries. Senior business analysts join Kearney after a few years of consulting or industry experience.
- Associate (1.5- to 2-year tenure): Entry-level position for MBA graduates. Associates gather and analyze data, conduct market and competitor assessments, develop client proposals, and manage work streams within the team. Associates also work closely with clients to develop and implement solutions that address strategic challenges.
- Manager/Senior Manager (3-year tenure): Managers oversee the day-to-day execution of client projects. They lead consulting teams, mentor junior colleagues, and work closely with clients to ensure the delivery of structured, actionable recommendations. Most managers are promoted from within or join the firm with prior experience in managing complex teams and engagements.
- Principal (3- to 5-year tenure): Senior leaders who combine deep industry expertise with strong client relationship skills. They are responsible for managing key accounts, identifying and securing new business opportunities, and shaping the strategic direction of engagements. Principals also play a critical role in mentoring consultants across levels, contributing to team development and culture. They help expand the firm’s reach while upholding Kearney’s core values.
- Associate Partner (3-year tenure): Senior leaders who work closely with partners and consulting teams to deliver client engagements and ensure high-quality outcomes. In addition to managing delivery, associate partners actively contribute to business development by building client relationships and identifying new project opportunities.
- Partner: At the forefront of the firm, partners act as trusted advisors to clients and industry leaders, and are responsible for shaping long-term client relationships, overseeing engagements, and guiding the firm’s overall direction. In addition to delivering impactful solutions, partners play a central role in mentoring and developing the next generation of leaders.
Kearney Internships
In addition to permanent roles, Kearney also offers a 6- to 10-week consulting internship program designed for undergraduate and graduate students exploring a career in management consulting. Interns are integrated into live client projects, where they gain hands-on experience in problem-solving, research, and analysis. The program includes formal training on consulting tools and methodologies. Each intern is paired with a dedicated mentor and gains the opportunity to network with peers and senior leaders at the firm, offering exposure to the firm’s culture and the consulting profession.
Kearney Specialists
Kearney isn’t just a destination for generalist consultants or business school graduates. It also offers a dedicated track for specialists/subject matter experts who bring deep technical or functional knowledge to the table. Whether you’re a data scientist, engineer, digital implementation expert, product development, or sustainability expert, Kearney’s specialist career path gives you a platform to apply your expertise to complex, high-impact client challenges.
Specialists work in tandem with consultants, allowing individuals to focus on their technical and domain-specific skills while contributing to client engagements. They’re involved across the engagement, helping to frame the problem, and then design and implement technically sound solutions to maximize client benefit.
See our article on consulting experienced hire recruiting for more information on pivoting into consulting from careers in other industries.
Life Inside the Kearney Career Path: Culture & Working Style
Kearney’s workplace culture emphasizes collaboration, inclusivity, and continuous learning. The firm strives to create an environment that is open, flat, and collaborative. Kearney emphasizes a culture that values individuality and encourages employees to bring their unique perspectives to work, making employees feel valued and motivated to contribute.
Kearney’s culture is rooted in its 5 core values:
- Curiosity: The drive to keep learning and wanting to know more
- Generosity: Care about the well-being of others, being humble and thankful
- Boldness: Taking initiative to be distinct and challenging the norm
- Solidarity: Support teammates and working together to become a winning team
- Passion: Display enthusiasm and be your best self
Kearney celebrates individuals who exemplify these values through its annual Kearney Value Awards, honoring “Kearney Originals” who embody the spirit of the firm.
Kearney employees consistently highlight the quality of their colleagues. Many appreciate the collaborative atmosphere and the opportunity to work with individuals who are talented, supportive, and approachable. This collegial environment fosters open communication and teamwork, enabling consultants to learn from one another and contribute effectively to client engagements.
Kearney actively promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion within the firm. Through various affinity groups such as “The Womens’ Network,” “Black@Kearney,” “South Asian Network,” the firm supports employees from different backgrounds and fosters an inclusive environment.
The consulting profession is known for its demanding nature, and Kearney is no exception. While the firm promotes flexibility through programs like “Success with Flex” and the “WorkSmart Program,” which facilitate part-time options and alternate schedules, employees have noted challenges in maintaining balance during peak project periods.
Kearney Training for Career Development
Kearney offers a range of internal opportunities designed to support continuous learning and career development for its consultants. The firm’s structured approach ensures that at each stage of a consultant’s career, there are tailored programs and resources to foster growth and skill enhancement.
At the onset of their careers, junior consultants engage in programs that build core consulting and technical skills. These include in-person workshops, live virtual discussions, and self-paced modules on problem-solving, communication, and client engagement. As consultants advance, they have access to electives that enhance leadership capabilities and prepare them for managerial responsibilities.
For those transitioning into managerial roles, Kearney provides specialized training to hone skills in team leadership, client relationship management, and strategic thinking. This includes a mix of core training, self-guided learning, and coaching. Senior consultants and leaders continue their professional development through a dedicated curriculum that emphasizes leadership and developing relationships with clients as trusted advisors.
Kearney also provides its consultants with the opportunity to gain international experience through its “Global Mobility” program. Consultants may be staffed on global client engagements or take on temporary or long-term transfers to offices in other regions. These experiences not only enhance professional capabilities and industry knowledge, but also help consultants develop personally by gaining cultural awareness.
3 Tips to Succeed in Your Kearney Career Journey
1. Invest in Relationships Early
Kearney places a strong emphasis on its people and team culture. Your ability to collaborate effectively is valued just as highly as your analytical capabilities. Building strong relationships with peers, managers, and mentors early on can have a lasting impact on your development. These connections often lead to more meaningful project experiences, access to informal mentorship, learning opportunities, and greater visibility within the firm. Colleagues you build trust with early in your journey may later support your staffing preferences, provide valuable feedback, or even advocate for your promotion.
2. Be Open to Different Industries
Kearney works across a broad mix of sectors, ranging from energy and automotive to consumer goods, healthcare, and financial services. Instead of focusing on one industry from the start, consultants are encouraged to explore a variety of sectors early in their careers. This generalist exposure helps build a versatile, well-rounded problem-solving toolkit and strengthens commercial awareness. Projects differ not just in content, but also in pace, complexity, and team dynamics, and developing the ability to adapt across different contexts is one of the most valuable skills a consultant can develop. Being open to unfamiliar topics also signals flexibility, a trait that firms value.
3. Take Ownership of Your Growth
Kearney provides a strong foundation for learning, but it is on each individual to make the most of it. The firm offers a structured development curriculum that includes in-person training, virtual workshops, and access to self-paced modules on consulting skills, business strategy, and client engagement. Beyond these formal resources, consultants are encouraged to take initiative, whether by seeking feedback, asking to be staffed on specific types of cases, or identifying new areas to build expertise. The expectation is not just to move from project to project, but to continuously reflect on how to do it better and how to grow.
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In this article, we’ve covered:
- The types of projects and industries you’ll work on at Kearney
- Kearney’s structured career path from intern to partner, with role-by-role insights
- Kearney’s culture – what differentiates it from other consulting firms
- Unique ways to grow your skills within your Kearney career path
- 3 tips to help you grow within your Kearney career journey
Still have questions?
If you have more questions about Kearney careers, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s recruiters will answer them.
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