Has anybody heard about this firm before? I first knew about it when somebody from my company moved there but that's all.Any current employees, ex's???Thanks!

Part of the new breed of small, entrepreneurial, boutique MC firms...very well regarded in MC circles. Others in this space include Kurt Salmon, Huron, AlixPartners, Kroll Zolfo Cooper, Alvarez & Marsal, etc. These firms usually have distinct finance and operations sides. The finance side are usually composed of ex-Arthur Anderson, and ex-Big 4. The ops side are from ex-McK, ex-ATK, ex-BAH, etc. I'm quite familiar because I know a lot of people who've jumped ship to these firms.

Are you sure?No disrespect but Kurt Salmon don't look very 'new' to me - to start with.

None of these companies are "new" in the sense of newly formed, but "new" in the sense of newly resurgent. Many of these firms have been around for 20+ years...but poached top talent and starting growing rapidly in the last 5-10. At least in the case of Alix, Huron, Kroll, and Alvarez, they're very active in the "turnaround" space -- very troubled or bankrupt companies (United Airlines, KMart), or they partner with PE firms that buy companies requiring an operational "turnaround".You're right...take KSA off the list. I was thinking of a recent "Consultant News" article and KSA stuck in my mind for some reason. They don't compete in the same space as Arch, Huron, Alix, etc. KSA are mostly in retail and CPG.

Thanks for the info Beng!Do you know whether they are recruiting and if that is the case what type of profiles do they usually look for? Shall I assume they want exactly the same as any other firm?Cheers

Thanks for the info Beng!Do you know whether they are recruiting and if that is the case what type of profiles do they usually look for? Shall I assume they want exactly the same as any other firm?Cheers

Oh well. Perhaps you could phone your contact up on a Friday or something. Websites are another obvious source for further information.Not good practice to assume one firm necessarily always wants exactly the same as another. However if somebody else moved there from your firm, it would suggest there is some overlap. Apologies for responding but I had also heard of them before.

OK, Hardhat, fair enough!I wish I could give "my contact" a call... if only that person was a contact of mine. I never met him before/after he left us.I did check their website and read about the different profiles... My question was whether they were currently recruiting and at what level?In terms of what type of profile they look for, unfortunately I cannot infer that info from the person that moved there since he was much more senior than I am.My question was about any specifics that differentiate Archstone from other firms in terms of what they look for in a (analyst/jr associate) candidate.

It's important to remember what these firms do, and a good analogy is a hospital ER. These firms often get involved when a company is very distressed. So they have to quickly assess the situation, stop the "bleeding", stablize the "patient", and when the company is stabilized, work on "turning it around". In cases where the company is too sick and the creditors are howling at the door, they may decide to take the company into bankruptcy.Think about what kind of people these firms are looking for. For the most part, they're looking for experienced, and relatively senior consultants. Unlike strat houses or Big 4, they can't afford to have junior consultants "learning on the job". Hence, you probably never hear of an analyst or associate leaving their firm to join them. What you hear is sr. associates, managers, principals, directors, partners, etc.

Since I (graduate) have an interview with Archstone within the next few weeks, I must disagree with the fact that they (or these companies) only hire on experienced level. Or their recruiters are just keeping themselves busy :). I would really appreciate some insights from archstone consultants or others on the company. Is it mainly turn-around? How strong is their strategy work? Current state and ambitions for coming years. etcC'mon!thanks

Got the same question. Anyone has experiences with archstone?Frank

Frank, See above for comments.Regards,Franky