West Monroe Acquires Strategy and Outsourcing Advisory Firm Pace Harmon

CHICAGO, Nov. 4, 2020 – West Monroe, a national business and technology consulting firm, today announced it has acquired Pace Harmon, a Washington, D.C., area-based IT and business services transformation and outsourcing advisory firm. 

The acquisition adds depth in transformation advisory for West Monroe, as well as new capabilities in IT strategy and business process outsourcing, procurement, and vendor management. Pace Harmon works with Fortune 500 companies and other large enterprises to determine their optimal service delivery model—in IT and back-office business functions—to optimize performance, cost, responsiveness, and service quality. Together, West Monroe and Pace Harmon will provide more comprehensive technology and business transformation services to their client base, through new breadth in IT strategy and execution and depth in strategy and advisory services. 

The acquisition, the largest in West Monroe’s 18-year history, is in direct response to the evolving technology landscape: IT and back-office functions within major corporations are being radically transformed by the cloud and digital transformation, which embeds technology strategies and decisions into all functions and lines of business. This broad-based transformation of these functions requires a deep understanding of enterprise-level technology architecture to make the right decisions to optimize operations. Combining West Monroe’s proven expertise in technology architecture, cloud advisory, business process design, and change management with Pace Harmon’s proven experience in IT function redesign, optimization, and outsourcing enables the firm to better support and lead an organization’s transformation for the post-COVID economy. 

In addition to technology and functional expertise, both West Monroe and Pace Harmon carry deep industry orientation, specializing in sectors such as consumer and industrial products and healthcare. This multidisciplinary approach translates to measurable results for organizations because a business transformation can only be accomplished when it is supported by the right technology and processes within the context and nuances of its industry.

Like West Monroe, Pace Harmon is a 100% employee-owned professional services firm. It was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in McLean, Va., where West Monroe will be establishing a new office as a result of the acquisition. About one-third of its 75 employees live in other cities where West Monroe already has an established geographic footprint, including Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco.

Consistent with a transition plan launched over a year ago, co-Executive Managing Directors Steve Martin and David Rutchik, who led the firm from inception, will be departing to pursue other interests. 

“Over Pace Harmon’s nearly two decades in operation, we built a solid reputation among major global enterprises as a trusted business transformation advisor with a client-first philosophy. We saw an immense opportunity to continue Pace Harmon’s successful track record in combining capabilities with West Monroe—we couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome,” said Martin, the firm’s principal co-founder. “Meeting today’s enterprises’ complex IT, business transformation, outsourcing, and procurement optimization goals requires a specialized approach backed by decades of experience, and we are proud of the transformative impact we have made on our world-class clients,” said Rutchik, who has also served as the firm’s general counsel. West Monroe is positioned to offer both organizations’ collective clients even deeper value and stability moving forward.”  

The transaction will bring 10 new directors to West Monroe, many with decades of experience in IT and business process strategy and advisory services.

Founded in 2003, Pace Harmon experienced dramatic growth, with a 25% CAGR since 2003, and in 2014 transitioned to a 100% employee-owned firm. The firm has earned many industry accolades over the years including being named to IAOP’s World’s Best Outsourcing Advisors, the Vault Consulting 50, Consulting Magazine’s Fastest Growing Companies and Seven Small Jewels, Washington Business Journal’s 50 Fastest-Growing Companies, and the Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 and Pros to Know lists.

Acquisitions are a part of West Monroe’s corporate growth strategy and the firm actively invests in areas that not only complement its core services but help solve pressing client issues in the industries it serves: healthcare and life sciences, energy and utilities, private equity, financial services, consumer and industrial products, software and high-tech, and retail. This is the company’s third acquisition in the last 18 months. 

“West Monroe will finish 2020 with 13 consecutive years of top-line revenue growth and EBITDA growth. While 2020 has certainly brought more than its share of challenges, we are addressing those challenges through several offensive measures—including seizing opportunities like this to succeed in the post-Covid economy,” said Tom Bolger, chief strategy officer for West Monroe. “The strong position we’ve worked hard to build over the years will enable us to continue our tremendous growth trajectory with acquisitions and other investments that position our firm to meet the needs of our clients now and into the future.”

Pace Harmon’s full suite of services includes IT optimization and outsourcing advisory; business process optimization and outsourcing advisory; enterprise software and integration advisory services; enterprise network services; strategic sourcing; transition management; and vendor management and governance.
The deal closed on November 1. Advisors on the deal for West Monroe include BDO for financial and tax advisory and Polsinelli for legal advisory. Clearsight Advisors served as financial advisor, and King & Spalding served as legal counsel to Pace Harmon. 

About West Monroe

West Monroe is a national consulting firm that was born in technology but built for business—partnering with companies in transformative industries to deliver real, measurable results. Technology is who we are, it is not something we bolted on overnight, and we believe it is one of the greatest enablers of business value. That’s why we work in diverse, multidisciplinary teams that blend industry expertise with deep operational and technology capabilities to create quantifiable, financial value for our clients. Our 1,300 employees based in seven offices across the United States also own 100% of our business, so when you partner with us you know we are committed—because your success is our success. Our undeniably different approach breeds undeniable results. Visit WMP.com to learn more.

For all inquiries, please contact:

Christina Galoozis
Senior Manager, External Communications
cgaloozis@wmp.com 
847.302.1762