News round-up: January 19

Apparently consulting firms take federal holidays very, very seriously. In the spirit of a 4-day work week, today's round-up is sparsely populated by new hires, new contracts, and press releases. Press on, if you dare.

Most interestingly, Accenture announced today that it has won an application services agreement with European beer giant Carlsberg. The deal reflects both the make-up of Carlsberg and the expertise of Accenture; with a large portfolio of beer producers under its belt (I recommend Baltika, which tastes like sweat and Eastern Europe), the former brought on the IT specialists to coordinate its sprawling tech infrastructure under a singular platform.

As discussed at length here, The Boston Consulting Group yesterday published its annual "Global Challengers" top 100 list of companies in emerging markets. The list is unsurprisingly dominated by Chinese and Indian firms, the likes of which are growing fast and furious amidst a climate of high-octane economic development.

Also this week, AlixPartners and Towers Watson made a pair of moves to enhance their healthcare consulting capabilities. AlixPartners today tapped Bill Siren to head the firm's efforts in the health sector; before joining the firm, Siren headed the healthcare consulting unit at Lattimore, Black, Morgan & Cain. Earlier, Towers Watson made a similar move for a similarly-named man; Bill Sharon joined the Towers Watson crew from Aon Hewitt (Aon Consulting + Hewitt Associates = Aon Hewitt), where he was the latter's healthcare practice leader. Both AlixPartners and Towers Watson touted their new hires as necessary given the state of the in-flux healthcare industry. "The healthcare market today is poised for dramatic and rapid change that will impose new operational and financial challenges for both providers and financial buyers alike," offered an AlixPartners managing director. Likewise, Sharon's hiring will help Towers Watson better serve clients amidst "strategic business challenges presented by the evolving health care environment." Yawn.

Until we meet again.

For more information:
Carlsberg Engages in Application Services Contract with Accenture
BCG: Press Release
AlixPartners Expands Healthcare Practice
Towers Watson Boosts Health and Group Benefits Consulting Expertise