Challenge at McKinsey.(London consulting firm)(Brief Article)

Economist (US), The, March, 2000

OUTSIDE Rome, no election is more secret. At McKinsey, which likes to see itself as "by far the most influential consulting firm in the world," the puff of white smoke appeared in a bland memo late last month. The managing partner, Rajat Gupta, who has held the post for six years, had been re-elected for another three-year term. But the memo failed to mention a challenge to Mr Gupta's leadership--one that led to an almost unprecedented second ballot. Nor did it allude to the anxious debate over the consulting firm's future, and whether it has, as one departing partner put it last year, "lost its way."

The most prominent of Mr Gupta's challengers was Ian Davis, who manages McKinsey's London office. His name, like those of the others, has not been publicised,...

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