Kirsty
London

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Kirsty graduated from Oxford with a degree in Literae Humaniores (or Classics) and represented the University at the Henley Women’s Regatta. An avid runner, she has completed the London Marathon, and is currently organising the London office “Three Peaks Challenge,” an attempt to climb the three highest peaks in the British Isles in under 24 hours. Kirsty is part of the General Management Consulting track.

I first heard of Oliver Wyman when I was applying for Summer Internship positions in my penultimate year at Oxford. I also received an offer from another firm, but the decision to join Oliver Wyman was simple. Throughout the process they showed much more interest in me as an individual, and were really committed to talent recruitment, which convinced me that they would continue to foster my personal career progression and development through the firm.

My summer experience was so fantastic that there was no question of looking for other offers when it came to milk-round. After a week of in-office training, culminating with the London office Summer Event, I was immediately put on a project in Boston for a large New England supermarket chain. Although obviously the flight out to join my new case team was a nerve-wracking experience, it was well worth the initial anxiety. The case was a great learning experience for me – I developed far more skills that I had on a previous 10 week internship in M&A at an international investment bank – and I found it very exciting to be part of a project which was genuinely worthwhile to the client and provided them with real strategic learnings. I also had a brilliant time socially – the case team event on my first weekend out there was sky-diving over Rhode Island!

The quality which I find most refreshing about Oliver Wyman is its lack of pretension. Given the high level of talent we recruit and the work we do, it is easy to become arrogant or superior in this kind of job. However, at Oliver Wyman, I have never been made to feel inferior or unworthy. As a relatively new joiner with no business background, I am often the most inexperienced person in the room, yet my contributions are genuinely valued and encouraged. There is no hierarchy of idea-generation here.