HISTORICAL VAULT CONSULTING 50 SCORES

Think back to 2019. There was no COVID and impeachment dominated the airwaves. Game of Thrones came to an end and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team won their third World Cup.

The Vault Consulting 50 was quite different too. This year’s darlings – Alvarez & Marsal and ghSMART & Company – ranked 17th and 19th respectively (thanks to their scores rising by .822 and .839 of a point respectively.) McKinsey edged out BCG, while Bain rounded out the Top 3 (It has since added .066 of a point, while BCG has lost .216). Like now, Oliver Wyman EY-Parthenon, Putnam Associates, and The Bridgespan Group ranked among the ten-test. These would’ve been the glory years for L.E.K. Consulting and The Analysis Group, which have since tumbled out of the Top 10.

That is a better fate than what awaited Deloitte Consulting, which fell out of the Top 50 either by declining to participate or simply not reaching the bar their employees set for them. Two years ago, several big names fell off the list: Booz Allen Hamilton, KPMB, Triangle Insights, and Mercer. This year’s list is missing McKinsey, Simon-Kucher, The Brattle Group, and Blue Matter Consulting.

Still, it’s not hard to see which firms make up the leading edge. Over the past five years, The Cambridge Group, Bates White Economic Consulting, and Keystone Strategy have moved up 20-29 spots. By the same token, OC&C Strategy Consultants, Charles Rivers Associates, NERA Economic Consulting, and The Chartis Group have climbed 14-18 spots since 2019.

What has been the trajectory of your favorite firms in recent years? Check out the historical table below to see which firms are on the upswing or a downturn.