Angus Hodgson describes his career path as “quite organic.” Having put aside early thoughts of becoming a professional golfer, he went to business school and took his first role in marketing before becoming a strategy consultant and then joining the investment banking industry. It was here that he was introduced to the realm of mergers and acquisitions.
Angus returned to consulting in 2007 and has been helping clients solve their biggest problems ever since. His background made him a natural choice to pursue transaction work when he joined Kearney, where he is a partner in the firm’s private equity and principal investors practice, leading its M&A and merger integration capabilities in Europe. Working across the full M&A cycle, he supports clients across industries, and has supported deals worth more than $40 billion.
“I really enjoy working with corporate clients,” he says. “Going through a merger or an acquisition is a real moment in time for a company. It’s something that often determines their future trajectory, and it feels good to play a part in making it a successful one.”
Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not big milestones like deal closures that are most meaningful. “Actually, the real stand-out moments are when you get to understand a company’s culture, make a breakthrough that will really change things for them, or find synergies that go way beyond the initial estimate,” he explains. “When there are no fireworks going off, but everyone has done what they needed to, and everything is going smoothly. Those are the things that give me the most satisfaction.”
Between work and family life, Angus is kept pretty busy, but he enjoys running when he has some time to himself, and still plays the occasional round of golf.
