Pros
The Work: The quality of work Greenwich Strategy produces is exceptional by any measure. The firm has built a very strong reputation over the last ~20 years for this exact reason. As a result, the firm rarely (if ever) pitches to clients, meaning that employees get to devote 100% of their time to creating meaningful work on active engagements. Projects typically last ~4 weeks for private equity and hedge fund clients, with corporate client timelines being more varied. As a result, the work itself is very fast-paced, and every analyst and consultant plays an active role throughout the project lifecycle. The Culture: Greenwich Strategy manages to create a unique work-life balance for its employees. With projects lasting an average of ~4 weeks, there is pressure on every employee to make meaningful contributions every single day. This creates a degree of intensity most people haven’t experienced professionally. While the work is intense, Greenwich Strategy has some extremely employee-friendly business practices. Most importantly (in my opinion) is the lack of work on weekends. The degree to which weekends are protected is unique among similarly demanding positions (consulting, ibanking, PE, tech). Whatever comes next for me, I am going to greatly miss Greenwich Strategy’s weekend policy, as well as “Greenwich Strategy Holidays”. Career Progression: Greenwich Strategy has played an extremely important role in my professional development. Any driven person is going to greatly improve their skill-set while working at this firm. Partner-level involvement in every aspect of a project means that you are constantly being challenged to push your abilities further. The environment is extremely collaborative and case team meetings always bring a diverse set of viewpoints (for example, when I first joined, the analysts I worked with came from investment banking, consulting, engineering and a F500 leadership program). Prior to joining GS, I spent a lot of time in meetings with various investors, consultants, investment bankers and industry executives, and I continue to be impressed with the high-level thinking that goes on in Greenwich Strategy meetings. People go in a lot of different directions after leaving Greenwich Strategy, but the majority of analysts go to business school. The partners are extremely supportive and helpful once employees decide what they want to do next. Pay: Without going into too much detail…the pay is really solid and everyone I’ve ever spoken to has expressed satisfaction with their compensation.
Cons
Providence: Living in (or very close to) Providence is definitely something I recommend to anyone joining the firm. The commute to Providence from Boston is about 45 minutes, which would be rough when we are busy on projects. I personally chose to live in Providence, and really enjoyed the city. It is on the smaller side and could be an adjustment for people moving from a major city, but it also has a much lower cost of living than places like Boston, and has plenty of fun things to do.