françois santos
Partner - Kearney
Middle East
Bio
“At Kearney, we do what’s right for the client and we’re able to reach out to the best resources no matter where they are.”
François Ribeiro dos Santos likes to use war games to find the mental blind spots that organizations may miss in their strategies. This approach works for a variety of organizations across many industries. Most recently, François helped an infrastructure conglomerate figure out where and how to invest and a metals company decide how to structure multiyear billion-dollar supply contracts based on his method. “Traditional strategic planning cannot manage these issues,” François says. “It’s thinking about the moves and countermoves, the impact of distinct sequencing of events, and finding an optimal tactical configuration.”
With more than 25 years as a consultant and working in as many countries, François has a depth of experience that includes chemicals, energy, metals and mining, and infrastructure. His experience means that he has weathered three major economic downturns and understands what it takes for cyclical industries to come back stronger. “The world is evolving, and you have to evolve even faster with it,” he says.
To face the changing world, companies have developed more in-house expertise and require advisors who can explore new ideas that they haven’t considered before. “In the beginning, if you have a good story to tell or just bring an exciting analytical framework to the client, they would hire you. Now you have a democratization of information and skills,” François explains. “Clients have become more sophisticated, and it’s about the value you can create with them.”
How do you create that value for the client? “You have to be curious,” he says. “Consulting is a people business and you must engage with people—your clients and colleagues—as much as you can.”
Areas of Expertise
METALS AND MINING
ENERGY
CHEMICALS
INFRASTRUCTURE
PRIVATE EQUITY
PUBLIC SECTOR
TRANSPORTATION AND TRAVEL
TRANSFORMATION SERVICES
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
DIGITAL
OPERATIONS AND PERFORMANCE
LEADERSHIP
CHANGE AND ORGANIZATION
Kearney is an American management consulting firm founded in 1926 as a branch of McKinsey & Company.
Source Link: kearney.com