📊 July Update: Strategy Consulting Headcount Trends

🧠 There’s no shortage of bold takes lately:

❌ “AI will replace junior consultants”
❌ “The pyramid model is collapsing”
❌ “Traditional consulting is dying”

But the data tells a different story — for now.

🔍 What the numbers show:

• 12% combined headcount growth across 60 top firms since Jan 2023

• 47 out of 60 firms have increased team size

• That trend continues into 2025 for most firms

• Only 2 firms have seen a strong headcount decline this year

💡 What does this mean?

GenAI is clearly transforming consulting workflows, but it hasn’t triggered widespread layoffs or structural downsizing. Instead, we may be seeing a redefinition of roles, not a replacement.

🧰 Consultants have always been early adopters of productivity tools:

• 🖥️ In the 1990s: Excel and PowerPoint

• 📊 In the 2000s: Think-Cell

• ⚙️ In the 2020s: GenAI joins the toolkit

Rather than collapsing, the pyramid may be evolving — with AI helping teams move faster, not smaller.

❓What’s your take?

Is the industry more resilient and adaptable than people think?
Will AI reshape consulting — or replace it?

At A-GAME | Executive Search, we help consultancies, corporates, and investors hire high-impact strategy talent faster — drawing on our strong personal network and deep consulting expertise.

We continuously track headcount trends across 60 major global strategy and management consulting firms to keep our clients ahead of the curve.

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