West Monroe Announces Top Leadership Changes

West Monroe Partners, a full-service North American business and technology consultancy, today announced the appointment of co-founder and President Kevin McCarty to the role of CEO, effective October 1st . Dean Fischer, who served as CEO since co-founding the firm in 2002, assumes the role of executive chairman of the firm’s Board of Managers.

As executive chairman, Fischer will participate in board duties, including setting objectives for and appraising performance of the CEO. He will also remain involved on a part-time basis in selective activities related to strategic growth, legal affairs, finance, and other advisory needs related to client relationships, global alliances, business development and related matters.

McCarty, West Monroe Partners’ president since 2012, assumes the additional responsibilities of CEO, including establishing the firm’s strategic direction, overseeing the successful execution of that strategy, maintaining the firm’s unique culture and maximizing long term financial returns to its employee owners through the firm’s Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP).

“Dean has inspired so many to become better leaders through his enthusiasm, passion, and commitment to the people and world around him. ” said McCarty. “I’ve had the great fortune of learning from an exceptional leader as I’ve developed my career, and it’s both an honor and a tremendous responsibility to take the reigns from him. I look forward to working with Dean and our board to continue shaping the firm that we first sketched out on a napkin a dozen years ago.”

For nearly 40 years, Fischer has been a professional services industry leader and entrepreneur. Under his direction, West Monroe Partners has grown from a handful of employees in 2002 to a full-service consultancy with 10 offices across North America and a complement of more than 500 consultants. More importantly, he has made his mark as a recruiter, leader, teacher, and motivator of people—playing a central role in defining and maintaining a unique, people-oriented culture that has earned West Monroe Partners numerous accolades, along with a strong client and employee base. He has been instrumental in building many of the firm’s client and alliance relationships.

Fischer spent the majority of his career with Arthur Andersen, where he became known as an entrepreneur with a legacy of rapid service and business development. He combines his passions for sustainability and corporate citizenship into leadership in the community, including serving as a board member of the Student Conservation Association for seven years and now serves on the Boards of Audubon Chicago Region and Openlands. 

“Building a firm of the character, stature, and reputation of today’s West Monroe Partners from the ground up, of course, has been very gratifying. But even more than that, it has been tremendously fun,” said Fischer. “It is particularly rewarding to see our people grow and develop into strong leaders—and nowhere is that more apparent than in the leadership that Kevin McCarty is bringing, not only to our firm but to our clients and our profession. I’m excited to see where Kevin and our other leaders can take West Monroe Partners in the years ahead.”

McCarty also has played a critical leadership role in West Monroe Partners’ growth. His vision and leadership has helped evolve the organization from one known for technology competence into a true management consulting organization with a strong reputation for guiding clients through complex transformational business changes. Consulting® magazine named him one of its 2013 Top 25 Consultants in the Excellence in Leadership category. Prior to co-founding West Monroe Partners in 2002, McCarty spent eight years with Arthur Andersen in Chicago as a senior manager in the firm’s Business Consulting practice. McCarty also sits on the board of HFS Chicago Scholars. (Full biography here).