Which of these 2 - A.T. Kearney or Roland Berger - is better (in terms of reputation, prestige, work, exit options, MBA application)?

Which offices would you be joining with RB and with ATK. The answer to your question may differ depending on where you're based, as RB for example has a much stronger reputation in Europe than in the USTony RestellTop-Consultant.com

Hi Tony, I'm refering to Europe and CEE offices in particular. I know that RB is exceptionally strong in Germany, but I guess it's only there. Which firm has better reputation in Europe?

Roland Berger is particularly strong (vis-a-vis the other top strategy firms) in Germany (where they are neck and neck with McKinsey) and in Central Eastern European countries - in many of the latter countries they were amongst the first of the strat firms to open offices and so are the most established there (I worked for RB on assignment in Croatia for a while, so have first-hand experience of this).By contrast, ATK is the better known consulting brand in the Anglo-Saxon world and will be more recognisable on your CV in the US and UK markets. The latter is probably marginally less "secure" in that there's recently been the demerger from EDS and so there'd be more uncertainty over the direction of ATK than of RB.Hope this helps and good luck with your choice.Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com

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From talking to a few who have worked with both from a client perspective, the view is that ATK offer "pragmatic/practical" consulting, while RB is a bit more "pure strategy". ie RB is very bright MBA types offering generic strategy, ATK tend to have more from industry and a little more "get your hands dirty" consultants. no scientific evidence here, just some comments from the client side.

Agree with the security issue at ATK – the EDS years were a disaster and nobody knows if they will get back on track. RB's management buy-out is almost 10 years ago and it seems to work. So I would definitely ask for a risk premium at ATK.I would also agree that RB's offices in CEE are stronger and – as far as I know – they are also more "local", e.g. the Warsaw office is headed by a Pole whilst the head of ATK's office is German.I can also agree to "also....."'s comments, but would mention that both companies are comparably "hands on" – ATK is probably the most hands on in the peer group and also the consultancy with the largest share of "operations" projects (which is probably connected). Corporate cultures seem to be pretty similar – there are quite often people changing from RB to ATK and vice versa

Last Anon... if you happen to work in Poland (Warsaw) can you advise what kind of salary (circa of course) can I expect from RB on Consultant and Senior Consultant level? Any indication would be helpful.

sorry I don't work in Warsaw – I just happed to do some work in the CEE region and happen to know some of the players (the market is still comparably small). So I don't know the salaries at RB or ATK in Poland, but a assume there is only limited space for negotiations on a C or SC level anyway.In the case of Poland the decision also depends on your career plans: if you want to stay in the region (including Germany) RB is probably the better choice in terms of reputation, prestige, exit options etc. if you are aiming towards the UK or USA it is ATK

Folks, looks like that her are some wrong information flowing around:Management-Buy-Out from Global IT Service Provider (EDS) in January 2006 was very successful! Company is debt-free at first year and strongly growing. Nevertheless, to grow stronger re-organisation on Vice-President level is ongoing, but does not effect lower levels.

Agreed, the ATK management buyout is largely a success. While losing money under EDS, and more importantly talent, the risk is not likely from a financial perspective...more so 'will they regain' the high-end strategy and operations perception, mindshare, and marketshare that once was? But, sometimes a purging of talent (good or bad) allows the firm faithful to rebuild a culture that was pre-EDS. Such a great brand and firm, my guess is that they will rebound...