Our Timeline
1926 | Predecessor firm established |
1929 | Andrew Thomas Kearney joins firm |
1934 | Landmark study of wholesale operations of Marshall Field & Co. completed |
1935 | Tom Kearney becomes managing partner James M. Phelan joins firm |
1939 | The firm splits in two: McKinsey & Co. moves to New York and Boston, and McKinsey, Kearney & Co. remains in Chicago |
1945 | Tom Kearney asked by President Franklin Roosevelt to head mission to help the Chinese improve their defense readiness efforts. Kearney and staff spend six months in China. He receives a U.S. Medal of Freedom and a Victory Medal from the Chinese government. |
1946 | Firm adopts the name A.T. Kearney & Company |
1961 | Tom Kearney retires and James Phelan becomes managing partner |
1962 | Tom Kearney dies on January 11 |
1964 | A.T. Kearney, G.m.b.H., established as first non-U.S. office in Düsseldorf, led by Art Kelly |
1965-1968 | Expansion continues with offices opened in San Francisco, Milan, Paris, and London |
1969 | James Phelan becomes chairman of the board and Kenneth L. Block becomes managing partner of A.T. Kearney & Company, Inc. |
1972 | Firm's name changes to A.T. Kearney, Inc. Kenneth Block becomes chairman of the board Donald E. Ramlow becomes managing partner First Asian office opens in Tokyo |
1975 | Toronto office opens |
1980 | Offices open in Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Atlanta, and Dallas |
1983 | Fred G. Steingraber becomes the fourth managing partner in the history of the firm |
1985 | A.T. Kearney begins consulting work in China |
1986 | Joint ventures in China, Taiwan, and Tunisia signed |
1987 | Collaboration with International Trade Research Institute of the People's Republic of China results in definitive study of manufacturing equity joint ventures in China |
1988 | Four-part landmark study of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness completed Biggest expansion in the history of the firm peaks with 20 of 26 offices enlarged, relocated, or opened since late1985 Offices open in Madrid and Munich A.T. Kearney named fifth-largest broad-based multidisciplined management consultancy in the United States Firm surpasses $100 million in revenue |
1989 | A.T. Kearney's operation in Germany celebrates 25th anniversary; first officers' meeting outside of the United States held in Munich A.T. Kearney staff worldwide reaches 1,000 employees |
1990 | Office opens in Singapore |
1991 | Berlin office opens |
1992 | Three Nordic offices acquired in Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm Offices open in Hong Kong and Prague Global Business Policy Council formed to provide a global strategic forum for executives and policy leaders |
1993 | Firm marks 10th straight year of double-digit growth |
1994 | A.T. Kearney wins two five-year contracts from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, largest in firm's history Offices open in Helsinki, Mexico City, São Paulo, Sydney, Melbourne, and Silicon Valley |
1995 | A.T. Kearney hires its 2,000th employee A.T. Kearney becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of EDS, nearly doubling in size and vastly expanding its industry expertise and information technology capabilities Offices open in Beijing and Seoul |
1996 | Moscow office expansion makes A.T. Kearney the multinational consultancy with the largest on-site capability in Russia Offices open in Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, Rome, and Warsaw |
1997 | Offices open in New Delhi, Shanghai, and Jakarta |
1998 | Premiere issue of Executive Agenda, the firm's thought-leadership journal, published Offices open in Vienna and Frankfurt |
2000 | Dietmar Ostermann becomes managing partner and chairman of the board |
2003 | Winning the Merger Endgame, by Fritz Kroeger and Graeme Deans, selected by Executive Book Summaries as one of the best business books of 2003 Officers elect Henner Klein as managing partner and chairman of the board |
2004 | Consulting magazine names Fritz Kroeger to its list of Top 25 Most Influential Consultants |
2005 | Paul A. Laudicina, director of A.T. Kearney's Global Business Policy Council, named to Consulting magazine's list of Top 25 Most Influential Consultants |
2006 | A.T. Kearney completes management buyout from EDS—again becomes an independent, privately owned firm A.T. Kearney celebrates its 80th anniversary Officers elect Paul Laudicina as managing partner and chairman of the board A.T. Kearney South Korea LLC becomes largest consulting presence in the country Offices open in Dubai and Ljubljana |
2007 | Consulting magazine once again names Paul Laudicina to its list of Top 25 Most Influential Consultants A.T. Kearney launches its new strategic direction, Vision 20/15 Office opens in Bucharest |
2008 | Daniel Mahler, the firm's global coordinator for Sustainability, named to Consulting magazine's list of Top 25 Most Influential Consultants A.T. Kearney receives Excellence in Diversity Award from Consulting magazine and makes its first appearance in the magazine's annual list of Ten Best Firms to Work For. Offices open in Abu Dhabi and Manama |
2009 | Offices open in Kiev and Riyadh |
2010 | Firm achieves carbon neutrality across its worldwide operations, fulfilling its first-in-the-industry 2007 pledge to be carbon neutral in 2010 Hana Ben-Shabat, partner, named to Consulting magazine's list of Top 25 Most Influential Consultants Office opens in Johannesburg, building on longstanding presence in South Africa |
2011 | Firm receives Communitas Award for excellence in community service for second year in a row A.T. Kearney named one of Consulting magazine's Best Firms to Work For for fourth consecutive year Offices open in Istanbul, Houston, and Calgary |
2012 | A.T. Kearney launches an updated logo and new look on all of its materials that better captures and reflects the firm's distinctive characteristics Joseph Raudabaugh, partner, named to Consulting magazine's list of Top 25 Most Influential Consultants |
2013 | Johan Aurik becomes managing partner and chairman of the board, the eighth in the firm’s history, and is named to Consulting magazine's list of Top 25 Most Influential Consultants A.T. Kearney launches Vision 2020, with the ambition to being the industry’s most admired strategic consultancy New office in Bogotá expands firm’s presence in Latin America |
2014 | A.T. Kearney is elevated to a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum A.T. Kearney is once again on Working Mother magazine's "100 Best Companies" list New office opens in Doha and Palo Alto |
2015 | A.T. Kearney achieves double-digit growth for the second year in a row, doubling in size since its management buy-back in 2006 |
2016 | Firm celebrates its 90th anniversary since its founding in 1926, making A.T. Kearney one of the oldest and largest global strategic consultancies, with a history going back to the birth of the industry |