Accenture leads race for IIM talent as clients navigate Al

Consulting firms accounted for a record 46% offers at IIM Bangalore summer placements

- Devina Sengupta

Accenture's hunt for management talent mirrors clients' growing requirement for strategy and scale with AI.

(MINT)

Consulting giants led by Accenture have ramped up their intake from India's top B-schools during summer placements as they prepare to advise companies worldwide on an unprecedented business transformation powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Management consulting accounted for 46% of all offers, up from 38% last year at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore. That's a "record high" at the 51-year-old institute.

"We would also like to highlight the record number of offers made by Accenture Strategy this year," said Tapas Ranjan Pati, head of career development services at IIM-Bangalore, in a statement on 18 October. Accenture Strategy made 132 offers versus 96 last year. Its peers who made offers include Boston Consulting Group (24), Bain & Co. (18), and Mckinsey& Co. (13), among others.

Accenture's hunt for management talent mirrors clients' growing requirement for strategy and scale with AI. That also marks a turnaround, as consulting firms had slowed their hiring about two years ago as wars and an uncertain global economy pushed clients to tighten their purse strings.