West Monroe buys change management consultancy 71 & Change
West Monroe, a Chicago-headquartered management and technology consulting firm, has acquired 71 & Change, a Portland, OR-based change management consulting firm.
Founded in 2016, 71 & Change supports clients in the Pacific Northwest with services in change advisory, analytics, execution, and project management. The firm has approximately 48 employees across offices in Portland and Seattle and had $8.2 million in revenue in 2021 on the back of a heady two-year growth rate of 36%.
West Monroe’s acquisition of 71 & Change will nearly double its national change management consulting practice. The transaction will add key methodologies, capabilities, and tools as organizations increasingly seek out change management services amid a massive digital transformation boom.
West Monroe says the average organization undertook five major companywide changes in the last five years, with the organization and change management consulting procurement category projected to grow at a CAGR of 24.6% from 2020 to 2024.
"We are continuously evaluating opportunities to better serve our clients on their digital journeys, and 71 & Change is a great fit by adding complementary services and much-needed scale," said Tom Bolger, chief strategy officer for West Monroe. "In fact, we've experienced 71 & Change's advisory and execution services firsthand as we partnered together on our own recent acquisitions.”
The firm – which has 2,100 people across offices in the US and UK – sold a 50% stake to MSD Partners in October to help fund expansion of its digital capabilities. The firm last year acquired Verys and Carbon Five to form the foundation of a digital product development unit.
As part of the deal, for which financial terms were not disclosed, co-founders Kim Bailey and Beth Montag-Schmaltz will join West Monroe as partner and senior partner, respectively.
"We are excited to welcome the 71 & Change team to West Monroe, an organization well-recognized in the market with deep expertise in change management approaches and technologies," said Mike Hughes, managing partner and leader of the operations excellence practice at West Monroe. "With our combined team and experience, we will be able to drive even more successful organizational transformations, creating even greater value for our clients."
West Monroe had a Pacific Northwest location in Seattle prior to the transaction.
The digital transformation-focused company says it differentiates its consulting offering from other large firms by completing engagements with multidisciplinary teams that blend management consulting, digital design, and product engineering.
