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West Monroe
West Monroe blends management consulting and direct private equity investment, co-founded by Kevin McCarty in Chicago.
West Monroe
Kevin McCarty, Dean Fischer, and Doug Armstrong started West Monroe Partners in 2002 as a management and technology consultancy, building a national footprint from a single Chicago office. The firm's core business remains digital advisory, but its investment arm now acquires and operates companies directly, focusing on the middle market where it already had deep consulting relationships. West Monroe's investment strategy targets mid-market buyouts and growth-equity rounds in business services, healthcare, energy, and enterprise software. The firm uses its consulting resources to run operational due diligence and drive post-close value creation, rather than relying on third-party advisors. Portfolio companies include healthcare analytics platform Arcadia, energy-consulting firm ScottMadden, and software developer GenUI. The geographic footprint spans the United States, with deployment concentrated in the Midwest, Southeast, and Texas. Since accepting a minority investment from MSD Partners in 2021, West Monroe has expanded both its consulting headcount and its acquisition cadence. The professional-services business employs over 2,000 people across more than a dozen US offices. A dedicated corporate-development team sources proprietary deals from the firm's client base, a structure that bypasses traditional auction processes and limits competition from other PE funds. West Monroe operates as an employee-owned partnership, with MSD Partners holding a minority stake through a structured investment. This architecture preserves the consulting partnership's decision-making autonomy while providing capital for larger platform acquisitions. The hybrid model — combining fee-for-service advisory with balance-sheet investing — mirrors structures used by Accenture Ventures and Deloitte Ventures, but West Monroe focuses exclusively on control and majority growth investments in the lower middle market.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2002
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Chicago
Corporate office
Chicago, IL, United States
Principals
Kevin McCarty
Chairman and CEO
Dean Fischer
President
Doug Armstrong
Chief Operating Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who co-founded West Monroe and what was their prior affiliation?
Kevin McCarty, Dean Fischer, and Doug Armstrong co-founded West Monroe in 2002. McCarty and several founding partners previously worked at Arthur Andersen's business-consulting practice, leaving during the firm's collapse following the Enron scandal. The founders structured West Monroe as a partnership focused on technology and operations consulting before expanding into direct investing.
Is West Monroe a consulting firm that invests, or a private equity firm that consults?
West Monroe is primarily a management and technology consultancy that also operates a dedicated investment arm. The firm generates the majority of its revenue from fee-for-service advisory work for corporate clients. Its private equity activities focus on control and growth investments in middle-market companies where the consulting business can deploy operational expertise.
Who is the external investor in West Monroe?
MSD Partners, the investment firm that evolved from Michael Dell's family office, acquired a minority stake in West Monroe in 2021. The investment recapitalized the partnership and provided growth capital for acquisitions. MSD holds a minority position; West Monroe remains majority-owned by its active partners.
How does West Monroe source its investment deals?
West Monroe sources investments primarily through its consulting-client relationships and a dedicated corporate-development team. The firm avoids formal auction processes when possible, instead originating proprietary opportunities from companies that have engaged West Monroe for advisory work. This model reduces competitive bidding and aligns with the firm's post-close operational playbook.
What investment stages and check sizes does West Monroe target?
West Monroe targets mid-market buyouts and growth-equity investments in North America. The firm does not publicly disclose standard check-size ranges, but its portfolio companies typically generate between $20 million and $200 million in annual revenue. Investments are concentrated in business services, healthcare analytics, energy transition, and enterprise software verticals.
Does West Monroe raise committed funds or invest off its balance sheet?
West Monroe invests through a combination of partner capital and its MSD Partners minority facility. The firm has not publicly raised a traditional blind-pool private equity fund. This structure allows it to hold investments without fund-life constraints and to finance acquisitions opportunistically, funded by MSD's credit lines and the consulting business's operating cash flow.
Which sectors does West Monroe explicitly avoid in its investment activities?
West Monroe has not publicly disclosed explicit exclusionary sectors. Its historical investment focus has been in business services, healthcare, energy, and enterprise software. The firm's risk appetite runs toward sectors where its consulting expertise applies operationally, which implicitly limits exposure to consumer-facing businesses, hard-asset manufacturing, and speculative biotech.
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