Professional services firm Accenture has acquired CEO advisory firm YSC Consulting. The purchase of the UK headquartered firm adds 200 employees to Accenture’s talent and organisation consulting practice.
Founded in 1990, YSC Consulting is a British-origin boutique consultancy, specialising in leadership consulting, helping organisations identify and develop the leaders they need to achieve their business strategies. Headquartered in the UK, with teams also based in North America, Singapore, Australia, Mexico, China, and South Africa, YSC works across a wide range of industries and sectors, including financial technology, biotech, private equity, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, financial services, retail, energy and media.
With more than 200 professionals across its operations, and a reputation for helping organisations define leadership and human resources strategy, the firm has become an increasingly attractive prospect. Accenture has subsequently opted to make YSC part of its talent, organisation, and human potential team – an international capability, which delivers HR transformation and talent strategy & development to clients around the world.
Christie Smith, Global Lead of the practice at Accenture, commented, “Successful business leaders thrive through the application of meaningful purpose and the use of technology to lead with accuracy, speed, empathy, and transparency. It’s at the cross-section of these values where Accenture and YSC Consulting truly align. We look forward to coming together and helping clients maximise their impact and carve a successful future steered by modern leadership.”
The move comes at a time of rapid change in the labour market. With the race for talent tightening due to the great resignation, leaders must adapt their offering to meet new expectations from employees – if they are to fulfil the demands of their customers. This also includes making the most of talent companies already have – with external hires proving increasingly difficult. This is something YSC has extensive experience in – having long built up a proficiency for helping clients identify future leaders at an early point in their careers.
YSC Consulting Chief Executive, Eric Pliner, remarked, “For more than three decades, YSC Consulting has supported and inspired CEOs and their teams around the world to shape the future through the intentional design of thoughtful approaches to leadership. At a moment when the world needs brilliant leadership more than ever, we are thrilled to join Accenture and bring the best of our expertise in individual leadership, team dynamics, diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, and technology-enabled talent analytics in a respected and rapidly growing platform.”
As well as beefing up Accenture’s offering in leadership and organisational strategy, the move will broaden Accenture’s client base. The firm has been a partner to 45% of the FTSE 100 and serves more than 40% of the largest private equity firms globally with services tailored to private equity funds and their portfolio companies – a move which expands Accenture’s industry expertise for private equity clients.
Accenture’s Global CEO-led Workforce Transformation Lead, John-Paul Pape, said, “YSC Consulting has garnered respect from Boards, Chief Executives, and their teams by re-energizing their organisations with new leadership and talent strategies – all fueled by the power of data and insights. Together we will empower business leaders to re-invent the way they lead and shape a successful future for their organisations, customers, employees, communities, and the world.”
The deal for YSC adds to a succession of other acquisitions which have recently boosted Accenture’s talent and human potential offering. In 2021, this saw it bring on board Cirrus, fable+, Future State and Root Inc., and Kates Kesler in 2020 – as it aims to create new ways to deliver value and help clients build strategies for the future of work.
Accenture acquired YSC Consulting from UK private equity firm Graphite Capital. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
