History and Values
The values Tom Kearney built into the foundation of A.T. Kearney continue to be our defining characteristics:
Success through collaborative relationships. "The one thing needful is that we all work wholeheartedly as members of the team."
Diversity of expertise. "The true strength of this firm, as in any organization, lies in the fact that we are all different."
Intellectual integrity and community commitment. "A consultant to be worth his salt must give honest judgments not necessarily those which he thinks the clients would like to hear."
Foundation
The predecessor firm of A.T. Kearney was founded in 1926 and in 1929 Andrew Thomas (Tom) Kearney joined the firm. A marketing pioneer in his own right, Tom Kearney and his associates blazed a new trail in the world of management consulting. Unlike competitors, A.T. Kearney approached consulting from a “general” survey perspective, examining all aspects of a company to develop more comprehensive solutions.
Throughout his career, Tom led by example, establishing a strong legacy of authentic, long-lasting partnerships and sustainable results. His commitment to client satisfaction, as well as his fervent belief in the “essential rightness” of what the firm does, paved the way for decades of success.
As he nurtured his young namesake firm by delivering client excellence, he never wavered from publically and personally donating his time to improve the human condition wherever he could. He embarked on lengthy pro-bono missions in China during World War II and in post-war Europe. Back at home, he headed up the Chicago Community fund, which was an amalgamation of local charitable organizations, for several years. In 1953 alone, he helped raise more than $10 million — which translates to more than $78 million in today’s dollars.
He took on these missions out of deep civic duty and moral obligation — from a sense of what was the right thing to do. We proudly carry on this tradition of doing what is right through each client project and through our volunteer efforts in the more than 50 communities where we live and work. In doing so, we heed Tom’s admonition that, “Our success as consultants will depend on the essential rightness of the advice we give our clients and the capacity for convincing those in authority that it is good.”
International expansion
From the 1940s through Tom Kearney’s retirement in 1961, our firm continued to thrive. In 1964, we began our international expansion by opening an office in Düsseldorf. We quickly followed with new offices throughout the United States and Europe, and in 1972, we opened our first office in Asia, in Tokyo. Today, we have a vast global network with offices in all major regions of the world. This expansion also coincided with decades of double-digit growth that continued through the turn of the century.
In 1995, we joined with EDS, a leader in the global information industry. Together, we tackled a number of highly successful projects with many of the world’s leading companies.
Renewed independence
In January 2006, A.T. Kearney partners purchased the firm back and achieved independence. More than 170 A.T. Kearney officers from 26 countries participated in the transaction as investors. We quickly became known as the 80-year-old start-up, with a proud heritage dating back to Tom Kearney, and the spirit and enthusiasm of a new company.
Today, we bring this experience and energy into all that we do, as we meet the challenges of an ever-changing global market and deliver, as always, superior, sustainable results for our clients and each other.
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