Strategy&

Strategy&
Name	Strategy&
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Management consulting
Founded	1914 (as Booz Allen Hamilton; rebranded)
Founder	Edwin G. Booz
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Area served	Global
Num employees	tens of thousands
Parent	PricewaterhouseCoopers

Strategy& is the global strategy consulting business of PricewaterhouseCoopers, formed from a long lineage originating with Edwin G. Booz's firm in 1914. It operates internationally, advising corporations, sovereign wealth funds, and major multinational corporations on strategic transformation, competitive positioning, and organizational design. The unit combines legacy management consulting practices with professional services from accounting, tax, and advisory groups across PwC network member firms.

History

Strategy& traces its roots to the firm founded by Edwin G. Booz in 1914, which evolved through periods of expansion, mergers, and spin-offs that intersected with major 20th-century developments such as the rise of Federal Reserve System policy impacts on US industry, the proliferation of Fortune 500 enterprise structures, and postwar corporate consolidation. Key milestones include the growth under figures associated with landmark management literature and practitioners who engaged with clients like General Motors, AT&T, Standard Oil successor entities, and national industrial programs influenced by the New Deal. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the firm navigated changes exemplified by rivalries with McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company, and ultimately entered a strategic affiliation culminating in acquisition by PricewaterhouseCoopers's parent network, aligning with global trends in professional services consolidation mirrored by transactions among Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and KPMG. The rebranding to its current name followed corporate integration and regulatory negotiations with authorities including national competition regulators in markets such as the United Kingdom and United States.

Services and Practices

The firm provides advisory services across practice areas tied to clients such as ExxonMobil, Amazon (company), Walmart, and Siemens. Offerings include corporate strategy formulation engaging with Board of Directors stakeholders, merger and acquisition advisory intersecting with agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, and performance improvement initiatives often coordinated with capital investment groups and private equity houses including The Carlyle Group and KKR. Industry practices span sectors exemplified by automotive industry incumbents (e.g., Toyota Motor Corporation), pharmaceutical conglomerates like Pfizer, financial services institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, and technology companies including Google. Functional services cover supply chain redesign, digital transformation in tandem with firms like SAP SE and Oracle Corporation, and organizational change management where methodologies draw on frameworks used in cases with entities like NATO defense contractors and national infrastructure projects associated with ministries in Germany and India.

Corporate Structure and Ownership

As a business unit within the PricewaterhouseCoopers network, the entity operates under a partnership and subsidiary model aligned with international regulatory regimes including corporate law in jurisdictions such as the United States and United Kingdom. The ownership structure reflects the broader PwC member firm model, with governance ties to the network's Global Leadership Team and national firm partners who coordinate strategy alongside regulatory compliance officers. Financial reporting and audit-related boundaries have been managed to address conflicts of interest between advisory engagements and audit clients regulated by bodies like the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and national accounting standards boards. Strategic oversight interacts with transaction teams within the parent network, facilitating cross-selling with tax practices and risk assurance groups.

Notable Projects and Clients

Notable engagements have included strategy work for large corporations and state-linked investors, involving entities such as Royal Dutch Shell, Bank of America, Saudi Aramco, and national development agencies like World Bank-affiliated programs. Projects range from market entry strategy for technology rollouts coordinated with partners like Microsoft and Apple Inc., to operational restructuring for legacy industrial groups such as General Electric. The firm has participated in public sector consulting tied to national modernization efforts launched by governments of United Arab Emirates and Singapore, and collaborated on transactions involving major private equity deals alongside advisors from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Research, Publications, and Thought Leadership

The firm produces white papers, benchmarks, and industry reports distributed through the PwC network, addressing topics comparable to analyses by Harvard Business Review contributors and academic centers like the Wharton School and INSEAD. Publications have covered digital strategy, industry 4.0 implications for manufacturers such as Bosch, and scenario planning for energy transition influenced by policy forums like COP conferences and reports from International Energy Agency. Thought pieces often cite frameworks that parallel work in management scholarship from authors affiliated with MIT Sloan School of Management and Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Criticism and Controversies

The firm and its parent network have faced scrutiny over conflicts of interest, particularly when advisory services intersect with audit clients overseen by regulators including the Financial Conduct Authority and Securities and Exchange Commission. High-profile controversies in the professional services sector—such as collapsed audits and contentious restructuring mandates for corporations like Carillion and investigations into large financial institutions—have prompted debate about the separation of consulting and audit functions, with policy responses from lawmakers in United Kingdom and European Union circles. Critics have also raised questions about consulting influence on public procurement decisions and transparency in engagements with sovereign clients, echoed in coverage by outlets like The Financial Times and The New York Times.

Category:Management consulting firms