McKinsey & Company has acquired Risk Dynamics, a leading risk analytics firm based in Brussels, from where it serves many of the world’s leading financial services companies. This acquisition reflects their joint commitment to becoming a global leader in model validation, model risk management and model advisory support for the financial services sector.
Banks, insurance companies, and asset managers are increasingly facing demands from regulators to implement and robustly test their risk models. And in a highly competitive environment they need to ensure a deep knowledge of risk extends from “the engine room to the board room”, that business and risk teams collaborate fully, and that chief risk officers have the influence and resources they need to deliver a strong risk strategy. With this acquisition, McKinsey is continuing its investment in leading-edge methodological capabilities to help clients meet these challenges.
The partnership will bring together two experienced teams of risk experts combining their talent, capability and proprietary intellectual capital to provide market leading advice. McKinsey brings a team who has delivered 3,300 risk-related projects in the last decade. Risk Dynamics brings experts with strong analytical skills, risk and business knowledge, and innovative methodologies. Many of the Risk Dynamics team are known as domain experts in their fields, with deep networks among chief risk officers and academics across financial and non-financial risk disciplines.
Cindy Levy, senior partner and head of the EMEA Risk Practice for McKinsey, said, ‘We are hugely excited by this acquisition. With Risk Dynamics, we will operate even more effectively at the intersection of strategy and analytics. We will help our clients build distinctive risk capabilities and leverage these capabilities into superior board-level decisions. Risk Dynamics is the ideal partner for us in this mission.’
Dr Dominique Bourrat (see photo), co-founder of Risk Dynamics, said, ‘We are delighted to take Risk Dynamics to the next stage and reinforce our position globally. We look forward to working with McKinsey to provide clients with tangible risk management improvements. We will combine our deep technical and risk expertise, assets, proprietary methodologies, and risk management strategies and frameworks with McKinsey’s current presence in risk management.’
Risk Dynamics will retain its entire management team and independent approach and will operate as a separate entity with its own brand, in close collaboration with the McKinsey Risk Practice. Both McKinsey and Risk Dynamics will serve clients independently and in collaboration, depending on individual client need. Risk Dynamics will continue delivering all its current services.
The acquisition is the latest in a number of partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions and organic innovation announced by McKinsey. These developments are a direct response to changing client needs. We have responded by adding new ways to deliver impact – new services, tools, approaches and people. Recent examples include the acquisition of analytics firm QuantumBlack, the design firm LUNAR and partnerships with Gallup and ClickFox.
