How is the EY-Parthenon Life Sciences practice?
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Currently transitioning out of MBB after 2 and a half YOE, and I’ve been lucky enough to land verbal AD level corporate strategy offers at BMS, Novartis, AbbVie, and Pfizer. 2 are in SF, 1 in NJ, 1 in Boston, and they all pay about the same (~215 base +/- 10k). If I want to optimize for career trajectory and growth opportunities, as well as the long term outlook of the company as a whole, which of these would be best, and do you have any advice for how best to establish myself?
Based on my personal experience, I would encourage life sciences professionals to carefully evaluate opportunities at ProcDNA before joining. I found the work to be heavily support-oriented and less strategic or innovative than I had expected. For those looking for cutting-edge analytics, consulting, data science, or technology-focused work, it may not align with your career goals. Continued in comments
I've never heard of them
Most of the partners were brought over from Navigant when leadership at EY roofied themselves one weekend and made the dumbest deal in recent history. Not a single one has any experience greater than weak market research and brand strategy - nothing remotely relevant to Big 4. Zero operations, zero deal flow, zero cost takeout, zero financial skills - just nothing. I know them all, worked with them for years. All the bodies, all the locations… PwC has the best Big 4 LS practice - and that’s a stretch. KPMG has brought over some good leads but the work is pretty much all cost takeout deal DD.
If you want to do deals or PE, it’s good. Strategy is horrible. They only really do peripherals like CRO, CDMO, etc. no true pharma strategy and also a ton of people have left the LS strategy practice in the past few months.
Honestly I have no idea. But a senior director did tell me a couple of years ago that EYP would never do true LS strategy cause they can’t ever compete with M/B in that space. Which is why they’ve always focused on pharma services. Even at peak, there were only 5-6 life science “strategy” partners and half if not more of their portfolio was deal management and/or diligence. Ever since EY bought Parthenon, they’ve continued to dilute the brand and shifted farther and farther away from strategy.