Andrew Thomas Kearney

Andrew Thomas Kearney
Born	(1892-07-05)July 5, 1892 Brockway, Pennsylvania
Died	January 11, 1962(1962-01-11) (aged 69) Passavant Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
Resting place	Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois
Education	Pennsylvania State University
Known for	Founding Kearney
Spouse	Harriet Mohr
Parents	James Griffith Kearney (father) Margaret Smith Kearney (mother)

Andrew Thomas "Tom" Kearney (1892–1962) was the founder of Kearney, one of the world's oldest management consulting firms.[1]

Biography

Kearney's grave (2nd row, leftmost) at Rosehill Cemetery

Andrew Thomas Kearney became part of James O. McKinsey's firm, McKinsey & Company, three years after it was founded in 1926.[2] Kearney was McKinsey's first partner and head of its first office in Chicago. At the time, McKinsey & Company was one of the few firms that were focused on management consulting for top level executives rather than specialized consulting in areas such as accounting or law.

In 1937, McKinsey died unexpectedly at the age of 48 due to pneumonia. While the company continued to operate as before, Kearney and the remaining partners disagreed over how to run the firm. This led to a split in the company in 1939, which resulted in Kearney taking the Chicago office and renaming it "McKinsey, AT Kearney & Company".[3] In 1947, Kearney sold his rights to the name "McKinsey" to Marvin Bower, and renamed his firm AT Kearney & Company.[4] In 1961, Kearney retired and James Phelan became the managing partner of the firm.

Kearney died at Passavant Memorial Hospital in Chicago on January 11, 1962, and was buried at Rosehill Cemetery.[5]

According to Kearney: "Our success as consultants will depend upon the essential rightness of the advice we give and our capacity for convincing those in authority that it is good."

References

1. Thomas, Helen; Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson; Stefan Stern (June 3, 2010). "Booz and AT Kearney in talks to combine". Financial Times. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
2. Yates, Ronald (May 6, 1995). "Eds Offer Roils Chicago-based A.t. Kearney". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
3. Martin, Douglas (January 24, 2003). "Marvin Bower, 99; Built McKinsey & Co". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
4. "The Kearney Story". Kearney.
5. "Kearney, Ex-President of Zonolite Co., Dies". The Western News. Libby, Montana. January 18, 1962. p. 1. Retrieved February 11, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.