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Kearney has appointed Bob Swan and Isabelle Xoual, two of the most influential executives in their respective industries, to its board as external directors.

The appointments both represent major publicity wins for Kearney. Plus, the industry connections that Swan and Xoual bring to the table could open new deal opportunities for the management consultancy.

Swan rose to industry prominence a few years ago when he was appointed to the helm of semiconductor manufacturer Intel. The executive moved on just a few years later, but he remains an influential figure in the tech industry.

Swan is currently an operating partner at high-profile venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz a relatively new firm that launched in 2009, but it has made a major impact on the tech sector: the firm is most notably for its early investments in tech giants Airbnb, Facebook and Skype.

Isabelle Xoual, the second external director whom Kearney has appointed to its board, is among the banking sector’s most powerful executives. She is a managing director at Lazard, an NYSE-traded investment firm with a more than century-long history.

Xoual is one of Lazard’s top Europe-based executives. Much of her work focuses on advising large companies on major transactions such as competitor acquisitions and subsidiary sales.

For Kearney, the addition of Xoual and Swan to its board represents a big reputational boost. That’s always useful for companies that operate in competitive markets but especially so in the management consulting market, where the strengthen of firms’ reputations is an active driver of revenue growth.

There’s also the fact Xoual and Swan no doubt have numerous valuable industry connections in their respective markets. Those connections could potentially open new doors for Kearney, leading to new consulting projects the firm otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

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