GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group)

GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group)
Name	Gerson Lehrman Group
Trade name	GLG
Type	Private
Industry	Consulting
Founded	1998
Founders	Mark Gerson, Thomas Lehrman, Alexander Saint-Amand
Headquarters	New York City
Key people	David Shield, Mark Gerson
Services	Expert network, consulting, research
Employees	1,000–2,000 (est.)

GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group) is a New York–based expert network and professional services firm founded in 1998 that connects business professionals with subject-matter experts. The firm serves clients across finance, management consulting, technology, and life sciences by facilitating consultations, surveys, and advisory engagements. GLG grew alongside the expansion of information services in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and competes with peer firms in a market driven by demand from investment firms, corporations, and professional services firms.

History

GLG was founded in 1998 by Mark Gerson, Thomas Lehrman, and Alexander Saint-Amand amid the dot-com era and the global expansion of financial markets. Early growth paralleled the rise of firms such as McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and the proliferation of hedge funds including Soros Fund Management and Renaissance Technologies. During the 2000s GLG expanded internationally, opening offices in cities associated with major financial centers such as London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and San Francisco. The firm’s trajectory intersected with regulatory milestones involving U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Conduct Authority, and high-profile legal scrutiny similar to cases involving Rosenblatt Securities and UBS. In the 2010s GLG diversified into data products amid competition from Bloomberg L.P., Thomson Reuters, and S&P Global. Corporate developments included strategic hires from firms like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan Chase.

Business model and services

GLG’s business model centers on supplying expert insight to clients such as BlackRock, Citigroup, TPG Capital, and KPMG. Revenue streams include paid consultations, surveys for McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company clients, subscription services for investors at firms like Bridgewater Associates and Two Sigma, and custom research engagements for corporates including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics. Services encompass one-on-one consultations, teleconferences, surveys, and workshops that draw on experts formerly affiliated with institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and MIT. GLG faces competition from firms like Guidepoint Global, AlphaSights, and Third Bridge while differentiating through scale, compliance infrastructure, and proprietary platforms.

Expert network and membership

GLG maintains a global roster of experts drawn from sectors including finance, healthcare, technology, and public policy. Experts have backgrounds at institutions such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pfizer, Novartis, Intel Corporation, and Microsoft. Membership models vary from per-project engagements to recurring advisory roles used by clients including Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. The network includes former officials from administrations under Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, academicians from University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, and executives from Amazon (company), Facebook, and Tesla, Inc.. GLG screens experts with processes informed by standards similar to those at American Bar Association ethics guidelines and institutional policies at universities like Yale University.

Technology and data products

GLG has developed proprietary platforms and data products to manage expert discovery, engagement, and compliance workflows, paralleling technology seen at Salesforce, Oracle Corporation, and Microsoft Azure. Products enable search, scheduling, and billing integration for clients such as Blackstone and EisnerAmper. The firm has invested in analytics capable of aggregating insights from consultations to produce market signals similar to alternative data providers like Quandl and Palantir Technologies. GLG’s platform initiatives intersect with cloud providers including Amazon Web Services and privacy regimes influenced by legislation such as the California Consumer Privacy Act and regulations from the European Commission.

Regulatory and legal issues

GLG has navigated regulatory scrutiny concerning insider trading risks that have affected the expert network industry, with enforcement activities by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and investigations echoing cases involving firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Legal considerations include contract law with clients such as Apollo Global Management and confidentiality obligations tied to intellectual property from companies like Intel Corporation and Google LLC. Compliance frameworks incorporate guidance from regulators including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and policies informed by rulings under laws such as the Exchange Act of 1934. GLG’s practices have been shaped by precedents from litigation involving information service providers and by industry responses modelled after corporate compliance programs at firms like Siemens and GlaxoSmithKline.

Corporate governance and operations

Corporate governance at GLG reflects private firm structures overseen by executives and a board including leaders with experience at McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, and Blackstone Group. Operational footprints span major financial and commercial hubs including New York City, London, Singapore, and Shanghai, with talent recruited from institutions such as Columbia University, New York University, and Imperial College London. Strategic partnerships and client relationships have involved multinational corporations like Procter & Gamble and Unilever as well as professional services firms such as Deloitte and Ernst & Young. Financial management and fundraising have been informed by private equity dynamics seen at firms like Silver Lake Partners and KKR & Co. Inc..

Category:Consulting firms Category:Companies based in New York City