One of McKinsey’s youngest partners ever joins Arthur D. Little
One of McKinsey’s youngest partners in its history – Vienna-based Raffaela Ritter – has left the global strategy consulting firm after twelve years of service.
Raffaela Ritter joined McKinsey & Company straight from college (University of Vienna) at the start of 2008, and rapidly grew the firm’s ranks from Business Analyst to Associate, Engagement Manager, Associate Partner and at the age of 29, Ritter became a partner in McKinsey’s Vienna office.
According to Consultancy.org's records, this makes her one of the very few (estimated to be less than 50) advisors that were admitted into the firm’s partnership before reaching the age of 30. Adding weight to her feat, McKinsey has been around for 95 years and has seen thousands of partners admitted into (and exited from) its partnership globally – the consultancy was founded in 1926 in the US by University of Chicago professor James McKinsey.
Ritter was also the first female partner in McKinsey’s Austria office, which counts around 90 partners and consultants. During her period at the consulting firm, she advised global and regional banks on strategic, operational, finance, transformation and merger & acquisitions projects, with a focus on the private banking, wealth management and transaction banking segments.
In her career’s next chapter, Ritter has effective 1 January 2021 joined Arthur D. Little – a smaller tier-1 rival in the strategy & operations segment – as Head of its Financial Services practice for Germany, Switzerland, Austria (DACH) and Eastern Europe. She takes responsibility for all aspects of the industry vertical – strategic planning, client management, project delivery, internal operations and resourcing, and thought leadership.
Speaking of the addition, Philippe de Backer, Arthur D. Little’s global Head of Financial Services said, “Raffaela comes with a truly impressive track record. She will play a leading role in developing our financial services offering, getting to the heart of our clients’ challenges and delivering individually tailored solutions.”
The firm’s Austria Managing Partner Bela Virag added, “Raffaela is a key hire for our team as we strive to provide our clients in financial services with a new type of consulting. Drawing on our network of open consulting partners and experts, our approach will highlight the possibilities of cross-sector convergence and collaboration, and innovative partnerships with other industry players.”
Commenting on her new challenge, Vienna-based Ritter took to LinkedIn to state, “Thanks for wonderful first days at Arthur D. Little! Looking forward to an exciting journey, innovative collaborations and new partnership models in the financial services industry.”
Founded in 1886, and formally incorporated under its current name in 1909 by founder Arthur Dehon Little, Arthur D. Little is the world’s oldest management consulting firm.