IIM Ahmedabad placements: Big consulting firms make big hires from IIM-Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: You would think that the economic downturn due to the coronavirus crisis will affect placements. Despite being in the shadow of a pandemic that has kept the markets on tenterhooks, the IIM Ahmedabad’s flagship PGP course has recorded the highest number of placement offers from consulting firms.

While the three-day final placement process wrapped up on Monday evening, sources close to the IIM-A placement process said that 150-plus students have got offers from global consulting firms, one of the highest in the history of the B-school.

“Three firms – Boston Consulting Group (BCG), McKinsey, and Bain & Co. — in total made 85 offers,” said Prof Amit Karna, chairperson of the placement committee at IIM-A. “The figure is significant as B-schools with much higher batch strength have not recorded such numbers,” he said.

In 2020, McKinsey had extended 27 offers including pre-placement offers (PPOs), followed by 23 by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In 2021, the numbers rose to 30 and 32 respectively.

Accenture Strategy and Kearney completed the top five recruiters for consulting roles from the IIM-A campus. Officials said that the final figures will be consolidated after the placement as students who have received multiple offers will make their final choice.

What does the surge – 9% rise compared to 2020 numbers, and 46% in five years – for consulting sector mean? Prof Karna said that IIM-A’s strength is general management.

“If we look at the trend, whenever the economy is in motion – upwards or downwards – the industry requires consultants. They are flexible with deployment, where the students’ overall perspective comes in handy,” he said.

Experts also said that be it acquisitions or takeovers, planning growth trajectory, or operations maximization, business consultants are in high demand. “It’s a human capital-intensive operation, and we see top firms compete in both talent and client markets. But we can surely see the surge in demand as a positive sign for the economy,” said a city-based expert.