Big Three management consultancy Bain has named EY veteran Lewis Woodward as its executive vice president of worldwide external relations.

Together with McKinsey & Co and BCG, Bain forms the so-called Big Three group of management consulting firms. The firms rank as industry’s largest players by revenue and count many Fortune 500 companies among their clients. 

Bain has about 13,000 employees worldwide. It was launched in 1973 by former executives from fellow Big Three member BCG.

Bain advises senior executives at large companies on major business decisions. The firm can help a busy Fortune 500 CEO find ways to reduce costs, lower a business unit’s carbon emissions or identify a new market expansion opportunity.

The firm also generates significant revenue from deal-related consulting work. During big-ticket corporate mergers, Bain is often called in to find potential deal breakers and manage the financial details. 

Lewis Woodward is joining Bain as its executive vice president of corporate relations from real-estate giant JLL. A member of the Fortune 500, JLL is a professional services firm that works with clients to buy and sell commercial real-estate.

Woodward led JLL’s branding and communications efforts during his time at the company. He earlier held a similar role at Big Four accounting firm EY, where he was also a partner.

At Bain, Woodward will oversee the firm’s worldwide PR and corporate affairs activities. He will also be responsible for organizing conferences such as client events.

Woodwood’s day-to-day work will include assisting Bain partners with communicating Bain’s capabilities and know-how to potential clients. In the management consulting market, a firm’s reputation is an important competitive advantage that requires active investment.

“Lewis’s deep experience and expertise as a communications, brand and corporate affairs leader are important to further enhancing our global marketing capabilities,” said Bain CMO Erika Serow. “His role will be pivotal to ensuring Bain and its brand remain pre-eminent in global management consulting across all aspects of our reputation.”

During the first few decades of its existence, Bain was known to make limited investments in marketing. The firm won many of its early clients through word of mouth in boardrooms.

Today, the management consulting market is much more competitive and firms have to take a more proactive approach to winning deals. As Bain’s latest executive hire demonstrates, the industry’s Big Three are no exception to that rule. 

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