AlixPartners hires Pat Houston as Managing Director
Management consultancy AlixPartners has hired former McKinsey and Co. Partner Pat Houston. The veteran consultant has more than two decades of experience in procurement and operations. He joins the firm’s New York office as a Managing Director.
Global management consulting firm AlixPartners announced that seasoned procurement and operations consultant Pat Houston has joined the firm as a Managing Director at its Performance Improvement unit. Houston will be based out of the firm’s New York headquarters. The consultancy, which is best known for its expertise in turnaround management, has more than 1,600 employees in offices spanning from San Francisco to Shanghai.
In his new role, Houston will help AlixPartners develop operations and procurement solutions for consumer products, business services, financial services, industrial, media, and healthcare firms.
Prior to joining AlixPartners, was a Partner at rival management consultancy McKinsey & Co.’s operations practice for four-and-a-half years. At McKinsey, Houston’s work focused on strategic sourcing and procurement.
Currently, AlixPartners founder Jay Alix is suing McKinsey for alleged fraud and racketeering, a claim the prestigious consultancy vehemently denies.
Before joining McKinsey, Houston was at management consultancy Booz & Company (now Strategy&, a division of PwC) for 18 years, starting as an Associate and working his way up to Principal and then Vice President. While there, Houston worked in the firm’s consumer products and operations practices. He played a key role in building up the firm’s strategic sourcing practice, eventually leading Booz & Company’s strategic sourcing function.
“Pat’s deep experience in operations and procurement will help AlixPartners’ clients achieve breakthrough results in these all-important areas,” commented Simon Freakley, CEO of AlixPartners. “At the same time, his experience in consumer products and business services will broaden and deepen our expertise in those two very important industries.”
Houston has a Master of Business Administration and Engineering Management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He also holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California.
In other AlixPartners news, the firm recently helped advise Chief Executive Magazine in the selection of its Chief Executive of the Year. Lockheed Martin CEO Marilyn Hewson was chosen as 2018’s CEO of the year, joining past recipients like Bill Gates (1994) and Bob Ulrich (2007).
