Slalom has hired Caroline Grant, a former senior regional executive at Accenture, to lead its office in Manchester.

The hire is notable because it offers a glimpse into how large consultancies grow their client bases.

Slalom is one of the world’s largest IT consultancies with annual revenues of about $2.9 billion. Its 13,000 employees support a client base that includes a third of the Fortune 500.

One of the very few IT consultancies that are biggest than Slalom is Accenture, where Caroline Grant worked before joining the firm. Accenture is the world’s top provider of IT services by revenue.

Grant’s appointment to the helm of Slalom’s Manchester office appears to be mainly about getting a foot in the door at potential corporate clients.

Grant previously worked for than 16 years at Accenture, the last five of which were spent in none other than Manchester. She was most recently Accenture’s strategy and consulting lead for North West England.

Translated into plain English, that means Grant had an opportunity to build ties with many of the IT service buyers in the Manchester area. As the world’s largest IT consultancy, Accenture likely works with a significant percentage of the large enterprises that maintain offices in Manchester.

Grant can now use those ties with IT service buyers to benefit Slalom. As the new managing director of Slalom’s Manchester office, she can broadcast the firm’s pitch to the companies she worked with during her stint at Accenture.

The managing director role will also come with other responsibilities. In particular, Grant will oversee the catalog of IT consulting services that Slalom delivers to Manchester-area clients.

Slalom takes on complex backend IT projects such as building public cloud environments and setting up cybersecurity defenses. It also works on customer-facing initiatives, like revamping an ecommerce company’s website to drive more sales.

Slalom opened its Manchester office in 2019. The company said when the office was inaugurated that it plans to employ 200 people locally by 2025, which means Grant’s responsibilities will also include managing a fairly fast-paced recruiting effort. 

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