Parthenon to set up Asia HQ in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Parthenon group, the US-based boutique management advisory firm, is setting up its Asian headquarters in the city.

Bill Achtemeyer, chairman and co-founder, Parthenon group, was in town last week. Parthenon is famous for its customised strategies and is known for its penchant to pick up stakes in the businesses instead of fees it would otherwise charge for their advice. As a result, many start-ups have gained from this arrangement.

For the boutique firm, Mumbai will be its fourth stop as it evolves into a global consulting firm. Boston, San Francisco and London are the other outposts.

Achtemeyer says, in the future, China could well be the second branch in Asia. But for now, the Asian business will be monitored from Mumbai, he said.

Helping Parthenon in its bid to get a quick foothold in the country is Vijay Govindarajan, professor of International Business Administration, Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College. Achtemeyer and Govindarajan’s association goes back 20 years when the latter joned Tuck School.

Karan Khemka, a scion of the Sun group, will head Parthenon’s local office. “Parthenon aims to be the strategic advisor of choice for CEOs and business leaders worldwide by offering clients

life-long partnerships, a high impact, customised approach and a willingness to go at-risk for a portion of our fees,” says Achte-meyer.

Is Parthenon’s entry into India a bit late with its peers from the global consulting business already having made deep inroads into the Indian corporate world?

McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, the Monitor Group etc have made their entry into India some decades ago. “I see India the same way as US was in the sixties. That’s the growth potential,” said Govindarajan. The management guru has several innovative ideas to jumpstart the skill sets of the young Indian. “Why can’t we have an online IIT, where teachers conduct online classrooms?” he asks.

Instead of producing a few thousand engineers every year, the IITs through the online approach can generate 50,000 engineers to satiate the demand of a growing economy, he says.

While IITs like the idea, he says the fear in their minds is whether quality would be sacrificed through this assembly-line approach, Govindarajan added.

Parthenon’s interest in business schools is evident. Going forward, the company would see several initiatives on this front.

j_satish@dnaindia.net