AT Kearney acquisition leads into Russian market

At Kearney is expanding its practice in new and emerging markets The firm, which has been working in Russia for five to six years, has.

bought Canon Associates, a management consultancy firm based in Moscow and Washington.

“We believe in the Russian market and wanted to expand there as aggressively as possible,” said Dr Peter Wagner, managing director of new and emerging markets at AT Kearney and a member of the management board. “The outcome of the Russian elections is a signal for increased investment in Russia and we feel we are now in a better position to participate in that development.”

AT Kearney has mainly focused on business with Russian firms – 80 per cent of its clientele is Russian. Conversely, Canon Associates’ client list includes large western firms interested in investing in Russia.

“We were very impressed by Canon’s client list,” said Wagner. “We complement each other very well. For Canon it’s good to have financial muscle and a global network behind them and the firm is very interested in emerging markets.”

He says there is an untapped pensions and insurance market in Russia and the focus will be on financial services, manufacturing and government.