Berkeley Research Group (“BRG”) is a global advisory firm that focuses on three main areas: “disputes and investigation,” “corporate finance,” and “performance improvement and advisory.” Example types of engagements BRG can support on include:
- Disputes and investigation: economic regulation
- Corporate finance: transaction advisory, valuation
- Performance improvement and advisory: board advisory services
BRG considers its people as some of its top assets and focuses on having an entrepreneurial culture and a flat working model.
BRG is global in nature with over 40 offices across 6 continents.
This article will share more about BRG’s history, internships, and career paths.
Firm Key Stats
Firm Website: www.thinkbrg.com/
Firm Headquarters: Emeryville, California
Firm Number of Employees: 1,200 in 2018
Firm Number of Locations: 40+
Firm Chief Executive: Tri MacDonald (Principal Executive Officer and President)
Firm Revenue: Undisclosed
BRG History
Berkeley Research Group (“BRG”) was founded in 2010 with expertise in data analytics. BRG recognized that in consulting, keeping and retaining top talent was paramount. As such, one of their key principles in 2010 (and a principle they still hold today) was to base their talent model on talent models in Silicon Valley. Specifically, BRG looks to promote collaboration, agility, and empowerment across its employees.
In 2017, BRG raised $63M of capital from Endeavour Capital to support its continued expansion and also provide liquidity to early investors.
In the ~10+ years BRG has been around, it has grown into a global company with offices in 6 continents and over 1,000 employees.
BRG Careers
Compared to MBB firms, your career at BRG will focus on a narrower scope / set of problems clients are facing (e.g., more technical cases). If you are passionate about the types of problems BRG solves, however, it can be a good fit. A BRG career enables you to:
- Develop client relationship skills
- Build out your consulting toolkit by learning from industry experts
- Learn in a global environment (e.g., can learn new languages or travel)
- Work in a “flat”, entrepreneurial environment
Berkeley Research Group Internship
Similar to other consulting firms, BRG offers an ~8 week internship which enables interns to:
- Understand the daily life of a consultant
- Build quantitative and / or qualitative skills
- Gain exposure to clients
Practice Areas
BRG’s practice areas are more focused than those of MBB firms, reflecting BRG’s narrower scope. BRG’s main practice areas are:
- Corporate Finance
- Disputes and Investigations
- Performance Improvement and Advisory
Industries
Despite having more focused practice areas, BRG’s industries are cross-cutting, with BRG even having a focus area dedicated to blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital assets.
BRG’s industries include:
- Financial Services
- Healthcare
- Higher Education
- Insurance
- Real Estate
- Retail & Consumer Goods
BRG Locations
BRG has 40+ offices across 6 continents. BRG office locations include:
North America
-
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Miami
- New York
- Toronto
Europe, Middle East, and Africa
-
- London
- Dubai
- Johannesburg
Asia-Pacific
-
- Singapore
- Sydney
- Tokyo
Latin America
-
- Buenos Aires
- Rio de Janeiro
Career Path
Similar to other consulting firms, BRG enables associates out of college to move up the ranks to a Managing Director level. Per BRG’s website, promotions are merit-based and determined based on an associates’ contributions.
Exit Opportunities
Given BRG’s focus is more technical in nature, the exit opportunities will be more limited and technical in nature. For example, after working at BRG, you may not be a marketing associate. Exit opportunities include:
- Investing roles (e.g., private equity)
- Business operations and strategy
- Banking
- Business school
Notable Alumni
While BRG does not list its notable alumni, some alumni have went onto:
- Serve in a leadership role at AlixPartners (working on turnarounds and restructuring)
- Serve in the office of the CFO at Ankura (business consulting firm)
Target Schools
Per LinkedIn, BRG target schools include:
- The University of Texas at Austin (~30 out of ~1,500 employees on LinkedIn)
- University of Virginia (~30 out of ~1,500 employees on LinkedIn)
- University of California, Berkeley (~25 out of ~1,500 employees on LinkedIn)
- University of Maryland (~20 out of ~1,500 employees on LinkedIn)
- William & Mary (~20 out of ~1,500 employees on LinkedIn)
Diversity Programs
BRG diversity programs include several employee resource groups (“ERGs”). Example ERGs are:
- Asian-Pacific Professional Network
- Black Professionals’ Network
- Jewish Professionals
- Latinx Network
- ThinkPride
- Women’s Leadership Initiative
Berkeley Research Group Culture
Per BRG’s website, BRG describes its culture as “entrepreneurial and collaborative” given it seeks to recruit “intellectually curious and motivated by our clients’ most complex business challenges” (see more here). On Glassdoor, BRG has a 3.8 out of 5 star ranking, with 65% of respondents stating they will recommend BRG to a friend and 58% approving of the CEO. Per Glassdoor:
Positive aspects of the culture include:
-
- Amount you can learn in a short period of time
- Interesting work
- Good / intelligent people
Negative aspects of the culture include:
-
- Poor work life balance
- Some examples of poor leadership
[optin-monster slug="fadl1lf9l0hl8h0cmmkr" followrules="true"]
Berkeley Research Group Interview
BRG has a mix of behavioral and technical questions in its interviews.
Behavioral questions can include:
-
- “Why BRG?”
- “Tell us about a time you dealt with conflict and how you resolved it”
Technical questions can include:
-
- Case interview
- Math questions
- Topical questions testing economics, finance, and accounting acumen
When starting the interview process at BRG, it is always best practice to clarify with the recruiter on the types of questions that will be asked during the process.
Firm Interview Process
BRG conducts phone interviews, on-campus interviews, and on-site applicants. Generally, on-site interviews are the final round interviews. Ahead of the interview process, BRG visits several campuses to share more about the BRG experience. For a full list of the BRG on-campus events, check out BRG’s website here.
BRG Salary
Out of undergraduate, BRG salaries for consultants is ~$92,400 all-in (~$77,000 base and a performance bonus of up to ~$15,400). This comp package, while competitive for recent graduates, is less lucrative than the comp package for MBB firms. Across MBB firms, consultants can expect to make a ~$110,000 base with a ~$20,000-25,000 performance bonus. To see how BRG salaries compare to salaries across hundreds of consulting firms, see the Management Consulted salaries report here.
Conclusion
Therefore, BRG has deep expertise across a handful of areas – specifically: disputes and investigations, corporate finance, and performance improvement and advisory. Compared to other firms, BRG focuses on a fewer set of topics, and as such, the exit opportunities are narrower. BRG prides itself on putting its people first and has a distinctly entrepreneurial and flat culture and provides associates the opportunities for a global experience. If you are interested in the opportunities at BRG and want to interview prep with an ex-MBB consultant, please click here.
Additional Resources:
- Top Consulting Firms of 2023
- Top 10 Boutique Consulting Firms in US
- Consulting Resume: Complete Guide
- Case Interview: Complete Prep Guide