TMT Consulting Panel: The AI Reality Check + What Firms Want in Candidates

Transcript:

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
I’ll be turning it over to each of our panelists one by one, taking the firms in alphabetical order. We’ll go with Gregor from Altman Solon, then Ron from Bain, then Karl from Capgemini Invent, and lastly, Dan from Strategy&.

To each of you, I’d like you to briefly introduce yourselves. I’d love to hear what type of work you personally focus on, what typical engagements you’re involved in, and why you chose to focus your career in the TMT space.

Last but not least, we have lots of folks who may be looking to break into TMT and/or consulting today. So I’d love to hear whether your firm is hiring right now, and if so, whether you’re open to sponsoring international candidates for U.S. roles.

With that said, Gregor Eichler from Altman Solon—two to two and a half minutes—the floor is yours.

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Altman Solon’s Telco Focus: Growth Strategy and Diligence

Gregor Eichler (Altman Solon)
Lovely—thanks, Rick. And nice to meet everybody virtually. I’m Gregor. I’m a principal at Altman Solon.

My background is business information systems, which I studied with the German version of T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom. That led me to be interested in TMT, specifically the telco business.

In my role at Altman Solon, I mainly advise telco and telco-adjacent tech players on questions like growth strategy and organizational optimization, as well as investors who are looking to enter the space, invest, or sell in that space.

Typical engagements I focus on include:

1. Commercial due diligence—supporting investors who want to acquire, for example, an optical fiber player operating in Germany or France.
2. Strategic advisory work for corporates—think of splitting an integrated telco player into a network and service business. That’s called a netco–servco split in the industry.

We also supported, for example, the merger of two large MNOs in the UK—Vodafone and Three. So those are typical projects we work on.

Why did I decide to focus on TMT? First, because of my background. Second, because it keeps me interested—this is what keeps our digital economy running. It’s the backbone of why we can have this conversation right now.

On recruiting: I’ll speak from the European perspective. Here, we’re open to international candidates, though we do have language requirements. On the U.S. side, from what I’ve gathered internally, it’s handled case by case. So I’m bringing more of the European perspective, but it’s generally case by case for these types of questions, and similarly in Europe with language requirements.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks so much, Gregor.

So as I mentioned, next we’ll turn it over to Ron Kermisch from Bain & Company—same slate of questions. I’d love to hear about you, your firm, the types of engagements you work on, why you’re passionate about the space, and of course, those all-important recruiting questions.

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Bain’s Telecom Perspective: Profit Growth and Recruiting Trends

Ron Kermisch (Bain & Company)
Awesome. Hi, everybody. I’m Ron Kermisch, a partner at Bain. I’m actually celebrating my 30th year with the firm this year. I’ve been a client-facing partner that entire time.

Like Gregor, my primary focus—though far from exclusive—has been telecom. I work with carriers, investors, and suppliers to carriers. In addition to being client-facing, I’ve had a number of different roles over the years. I’ll call out two. First, I led our global technology and telecom practice for many years. More recently, I’ve been leading recruiting for Bain as well.

A typical engagement for me, if we take a carrier as an example, reflects the reality that it’s a tough time in telecom. It’s all about where you find growth. The vast majority of our work focuses on how to drive profit growth in one way or another.

That might include exploring new business lines—should we get into financial services, and if so, what should we offer and how do we make it work? It might involve improving B2B sales force productivity or optimizing capex spend. A standard Bain team might include a manager and four consultants working with a client for a few months on one of these issues.

Why TMT for me? I’ve always loved technology. I was an engineer in college and worked as a programmer afterward. I worked for both a large company and a startup early in my career. In both cases, we had great technology and great products—but they didn’t succeed. The reason was that the technologists didn’t have a strong business sense.

I decided I wanted to be the person who helped bridge that gap. Consulting has given me the opportunity to stay close to technology while working on the business side.

On recruiting: we are absolutely hiring. Last year was our second-largest hiring class ever, and we’re growing again this year. We welcome international candidates in the U.S. who are already studying here, such as those on F-1 visas. We don’t currently have capacity to sponsor candidates who are not already in the U.S., but we do have over 50 offices globally and are always hiring internationally in those locations.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
All right, thanks so much. We’re two for two on telco focus, gentlemen—close to my heart as a former programmer as well.

With that said, let’s take it next to Karl Bjurstrom from Capgemini Invent. Same slate of questions, but I’d also love for you to help us understand how Capgemini Invent differs from other parts of Capgemini that people may be familiar with. The floor is yours.

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Capgemini Invent vs. Capgemini: “Making It Real” in TMT

Karl Bjurstrom (Capgemini Invent)
Awesome—thank you.

I was a bit confused this morning when we started, because I thought this was a TNT discussion, not TMT. I’m Swedish originally, so I thought we were going to talk about dynamite. But now I feel more at home talking about TMT.

I’ve been with the firm for about 20 years. Before joining Capgemini, I was actually in industry—not in telco, even though mobile telephony was born in Sweden. I spent a few years in media, then transitioned into consulting as a staff consultant.

I’ve seen the work evolve from PowerPoint and Excel hacking to now shaping major deals with top clients. I used to lead TMT globally for Invent and now lead TMT in North America. I also serve as sales officer and head of industry, overseeing all go-to-market work in the U.S.

On Invent versus the broader Capgemini Group: Capgemini is a publicly listed French company with over 400,000 people globally. When I joined, we were closer to 100,000, so the firm has grown significantly through acquisitions and organically.

The broader group focuses largely on technology services, systems integration, and outsourcing. Invent, which is about 13,000 people, focuses on management consulting and innovation. Around 2010 to 2013, we saw digital transformation coming and partnered with MIT to define what that space would look like. We realized traditional management consulting alone wouldn’t be sufficient.

So we expanded Invent to include design, data and AI, and technology advisory. We focus on taking ideas all the way to market—what we call “making it real.”

For me personally, that’s meant helping define and launch products that now generate billions of dollars for clients. It can also mean ensuring platforms and operating models are set up to successfully deploy and scale AI, driving efficiency in different ways.

Another exciting aspect has been working across every continent except Antarctica—though I’m open to changing that. I’ve worked across telco, media, and tech globally, and that’s one of the most interesting parts of this space.

We are hiring in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
It’s our pleasure, and thanks for educating me on Capgemini Invent. Given the size of the firm, I’ve encountered Capgemini in many different contexts, so it’s great to get clarity.

With that said, Dan—back when it was Booz, you would have been earlier alphabetically, but now it’s Strategy& as part of PwC. I’d love to turn it over to you. Same slate of questions.

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Strategy& at PwC: Tech, Telecom, Deals, and Regulation

Dan Hays (PwC Strategy&)
Thanks so much, Rick, and thanks everyone for being here today. I’m Dan Hays, a partner at Strategy&, which is the strategy consulting arm of PwC.

PwC is one of the world’s largest professional services firms, spanning audit, tax, and consulting, with a presence in over 150 countries. Strategy& specifically operates in about 50 to 60 of those countries.

We’re a broad strategy consulting firm, working across growth strategy, cost transformation, technology strategy, and deals strategy, including a lot of M&A work.

I’ve been in consulting for about 28 years, following a career in the tech industry. I’m a self-proclaimed recovering engineer and spent time in computing and semiconductors before moving into consulting to apply those lessons on a broader scale.

Today, my work is primarily in tech and telecom, with some exposure to media when relevant. My work generally falls into two buckets: growth strategy—helping clients launch new products, enter new markets, or access new customer segments—and regulatory and policy strategy.

That latter area involves helping clients anticipate or respond to regulatory changes that can significantly impact their businesses. It’s challenging, visible work, and often shows up in the headlines.

What I love about TMT is its relevance. You can’t go an hour without seeing a headline related to AI, semiconductors, software, or mobile devices. Even areas like FinTech and MedTech ultimately trace back to TMT.

On recruiting: we are absolutely hiring. We do sponsor some international candidates in the U.S., including H-1Bs, depending on role and circumstances. We also hire international students studying in the U.S. and recruit globally across our offices.

One plug for students: we publish the names and email addresses of our campus recruiters online. If you search for the PwC campus recruiting map, you can find your school and reach out directly. I always tell people—make them your best friend.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Great advice. They’re people people, and they’re waiting for your email.

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Late-2025 TMT Trends: AI Value, Monetization, and Capex Pressure

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Thanks so much for the introductions. From here, we’re going to dive into our slate of questions. I’ll address each question to two of you specifically.

The first question goes to Ron from Bain and then Gregor from Altman Solon.

The TMT sector is evolving quickly. What is one key trend you’re seeing here in late 2025 and moving into 2026, and how is it shaping the questions your clients are bringing to you?

Ron Kermisch (Bain & Company)
It’s a great question. The trend I’d highlight is that the euphoria around AI is over. After a couple of years of everyone asking how they can deploy AI, the question now is: Why aren’t we getting anything for all of our AI investments?

That’s led to two really important—and overdue—questions. The first is how companies need to change their processes to actually make use of AI. Many organizations tried to layer AI on top of existing processes, and that doesn’t generate cost savings or materially change delivery times.

What we’re seeing now is companies going back to step zero and asking, “How should this process work?” and then applying AI to that redesigned process. That’s where they’re starting to see real benefits.

The second question, which is newer, is how talent strategy needs to evolve to capture AI’s value. That includes enabling people to use AI effectively, retaining top AI users—who are dramatically more productive—and evolving hiring models.

What we typically see is that about 10% of people are super users, 40% are coming along, and 50% are either disengaged or actively resistant. The challenge is retaining the top 10%, pulling more people into that 40%, and figuring out how to handle the rest. That’s been a major focus for our clients lately.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Super interesting. Gregor, same question to you—what trends are you seeing and how are they shaping client demand?

Gregor Eichler (Altman Solon)
Great question, Rick. Let me add a different angle that’s very telco-specific.

Telco is an extremely capex-intensive industry, and what we’re seeing is that many telcos are struggling to fully monetize those investments. They’re having difficulty capturing value, and profitability is under pressure. In many cases, return on invested capital is dropping below the cost of capital, which is obviously a major concern for investors.

The core question clients are asking is: How do we generate value from the capex we’ve already deployed?

This has ripple effects across the ecosystem. In fiber, for example, there’s often insufficient penetration or utilization of deployed networks. On the mobile side, capex cycles affect suppliers—thinking about companies like Ericsson and Nokia, particularly in the Nordics.

So the questions become:
First, how do we monetize these assets more effectively?
Second, if that’s difficult, how do we optimize for an industry that’s under sustained pressure?

That means identifying alternative growth avenues and optimizing operations to align with current market realities.

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How GenAI Is Changing Consulting Delivery in TMT

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Thanks. I’d like to build on the AI theme and pose the next question to Karl from Capgemini Invent and then Dan from Strategy&.

AI is everywhere in late 2025. Karl, can you share a recent example where generative AI changed how you solved a problem for a TMT client and the impact it had?

Karl Bjurstrom (Capgemini Invent)
We’re applying AI more and more with our teams, and I’ll start with an example at the core of AI itself.

We’re working with hyperscalers on their data centers as they scale at a frantic pace. There’s no sign of that spend slowing down. We’re helping them understand how to detect and prevent critical failures across infrastructure—everything from cooling systems to power grids feeding server racks.

We’ve defined algorithms and actuation processes to identify risks early and act quickly. This work has moved from strategy into rollout across multiple sites. So far, it’s helped prevent at least five critical outages, and it’s now being considered for other highly critical assets beyond data centers.

That’s an example where AI is both the subject and the tool.

Another example is more classic consulting work. In growth strategy projects, we often analyze competitors, channels, and customers. We’re now building prompt libraries that allow us to accelerate competitive analysis, depending on data quality and availability—client data, Capgemini proprietary data, and third-party sources.

In specific phases of a strategy project, we use AI to either deliver more value faster or reduce team size. We have explicit conversations with clients about where they want us to lean—lower cost or faster, deeper insight. Those tradeoffs are very much part of the discussion now.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
That makes a lot of sense—AI driving value from the data center all the way to the client interface.

Dan, same question to you. How has GenAI changed how you approach a TMT problem?

Dan Hays (PwC Strategy&)
It’s a fascinating question, and there are new examples every day.

About two years ago, PwC announced a billion-dollar investment in AI, and we’ve been rolling that out steadily. In TMT, we really engage with AI in three ways.

First, we work with AI companies themselves on product and go-to-market strategy. Second, we help clients use AI internally to become more efficient and effective. Third—and this is the example I’ll share—we use AI directly in our own work.

I do a lot of growth and regulatory strategy work, and I’m currently on a project that combines both. The client is a Fortune 500 company launching a product that will make them regulated for the first time, across multiple countries.

Historically, we would have staffed a large team to read tens of thousands of pages of regulation and distill what mattered. Instead, we built custom GPTs, pointed them to authoritative regulatory sources, and structured prompts to extract, categorize, and analyze requirements.

This dramatically reduced manual effort, accelerated the project, and allowed the team to focus on what really mattered—working with the client to interpret implications and support change so the product could get to market.

AI didn’t replace insight—it removed low-value work so we could focus on insight.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
It’s also a great illustration of how different life is for a young consultant today compared to 20 or 30 years ago.

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Innovation Meets Regulation in TMT

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Dan, don’t go far—I’ll put our next question to you first, and then to Ron from Bain.

TMT sits at the intersection of innovation and regulation. Can you share a specific client engagement where you had to balance both, and what made that work meaningful to you personally?

Dan Hays (PwC Strategy&)
I’ve been fortunate to work on projects that really move the needle. My personal litmus test is whether the work could show up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

One engagement that stands out involved a major U.S. telecom operator that asked us to assess the potential impact of two competitors merging. At first glance, you might think a competitor merger is just another industry event, but in this case it became a significant antitrust issue.

There was concern that the merger would harm competition and consumers—pricing, service quality, and innovation. As consumers ourselves, that hits close to home.

We helped the client assess the competitive and consumer impact and develop arguments that were ultimately used in front of regulators. The merger was overturned, which led to a very different trajectory for the industry.

It was meaningful because strong analysis and clear logic helped shape outcomes with nationwide impact, even though we were working behind the scenes.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
That makes a lot of sense. As a recovering engineer, I’ll admit I used to spend very little time thinking about whether what we were building was compliant—or even legal. That’s obviously changed.

Ron, same question to you. How do innovation and regulation intersect in your work, and why do you enjoy those topics?

Ron Kermisch (Bain & Company)
That question assumes I enjoy it—but telecom is heavily regulated, so if you want to do anything innovative, regulation is always part of the equation.

One memorable engagement involved a carrier trying to find new growth avenues. One of their biggest assets is data—data about where people go, what they watch, and how they behave. Google monetizes this extremely well, but telcos have historically avoided it due to regulatory concerns.

We worked with the carrier to explore how they could responsibly use that data in a way regulators would accept and customers would view positively.

For example, if the carrier knew someone attended a professional hockey game and which routes most people took to get there, they could offer targeted discounts at nearby retailers. Customers received value, retailers paid for access, and the carrier monetized the data.

We tested customer reactions, response rates, and regulator perspectives. Some of these initiatives were implemented, and it felt rewarding because regulation served as a guardrail to ensure outcomes were genuinely customer-friendly.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
It’s easy to forget how deeply regulated telco is, especially given how quickly technology has evolved.

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Breaking Into TMT Consulting: Skills That Matter Beyond AI

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
I’d like to shift gears. Gregor, outside of AI or technical expertise, what skill do you think is most important for someone trying to break into TMT consulting today?

Gregor Eichler (Altman Solon)
That’s a great question. The answer is adaptability.

In a world where easy answers are readily available and the pace of work is accelerating, the way we interact with peers, clients, and tasks is constantly changing. New tools emerge, new work types appear, and teams are increasingly global.

At Altman Solon, we operate as a truly global firm with a single P&L and office-agnostic staffing. You might work with colleagues from the U.S., Mexico, and Singapore on a fast-moving project. You need to adapt to different cultures, workloads, and ways of working.

In the past, you might have solved the same task the same way for years. Today, you might prototype something quickly, use new tools, or even ditch PowerPoint in favor of an offline workshop.

To build adaptability, try this: the next time you tackle a task, don’t do it the usual way. Force yourself to approach it differently. That’s how you train adaptability.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
I love that—introducing constraints to push thinking.

Karl, same question to you. What skill should candidates focus on developing?

Karl Bjurstrom (Capgemini Invent)
I agree strongly with Gregor on adaptability. For me, it’s anything that helps you grow beyond the obvious.

When I joined consulting, I highlighted three things. First was selling. I sold consumer electronics while in college. Being comfortable selling—whether it’s a product or an idea—is incredibly valuable in consulting.

Second, I played guitar in a band. Consulting teams are a lot like bands: creative, opinionated people working closely together. Learning how to collaborate in those environments is critical.

Third was industry experience. I worked in media, and understanding consumer behavior deeply has been invaluable. Going beyond surface-level analysis and drilling into data really matters.

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What Top Firms Look For in Candidates

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
We’ve got a lot of candidates in the audience looking to break into TMT consulting. You’ve all been involved in recruiting in different ways at your firms. I’d love for you to share what stands out to you in a candidate—what’s a quality that makes you say, this person really stands out or this person would be a great fit here.

We’ll go in alphabetical order by firm. Gregor, that puts you up first.

Gregor Eichler (Altman Solon)
I’d like to answer with curiosity—deep curiosity. That really shows that candidates are eager to understand problems in depth and go beyond the easy answer, especially in the age of AI, where easy answers are readily available.

Clients are looking for nuance. They’re looking for people who are curious enough to go deep where it matters. Having that breadth, but also the curiosity to dive deep when it counts, really stands out to me.

If you can show this in an interview, it also signals that you’re someone who’s willing to take ownership of your own workstream and drive it end to end. You want to understand something from the beginning and see it through to the end—and that’s a key quality of a great consultant.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
That makes a lot of sense. Thank you.

Ron, same question to you. What makes candidates stand out at Bain?

Ron Kermisch (Bain & Company)
I’ll give the same first answer—curiosity. So I’ll add a second one, which is resilience.

Consulting is hard. If you’re really having impact, getting the answer is not the hard part. Getting organizations to change how they work, what they do, or how they make investments—that’s what’s hard.

If it were easy, they wouldn’t pay consultants to help them do it. So we really look for candidates who show a willingness to stick with things, to push through resistance, and to fight for the right answer and recommendation.

We look for that both in someone’s background and in the interview itself—people who show that they can handle pushback and still drive toward a solution.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
That makes a lot of sense. A former mentor of mine at McKinsey used to say, being right is not good enough. It took me a while to understand what he meant by that, but it really stuck.

Karl, same question to you. What makes candidates stand out at Capgemini Invent?

Karl Bjurstrom (Capgemini Invent)
I really liked Ron’s answer around grit and perseverance.

One thing we look for a lot—and it’s honestly hard to articulate on a resume—is fit with the team. Team fit is also harder to assess over Teams or Google Meet.

When we’ve looked back at hiring outcomes, we’ve found that we tend to do better when we’ve met people face to face. Taking the time to meet people and understand how they show up as humans really matters.

So for me, it’s about how you collaborate, how you work with others, and how you resolve conflict. Consulting can be grinding at times, and delivering work as a team for a client requires the ability to work through disagreement and move forward together.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Of course, that makes a lot of sense.

Dan, last word here. What makes a candidate stand out at Strategy&?

Dan Hays (PwC Strategy&)
I’ll add another dimension that we haven’t talked about yet, which is depth.

We really like—especially in TMT consulting—candidates who’ve gone deep in a particular area. TMT is broad, and no one knows all of it, but we like to see people who’ve gone deep in semiconductors, mobile communications, streaming video, or another specific area.

We want people who have a point of view. That doesn’t mean being an expert in everything, but it does mean showing that you can really dive in, develop expertise, and bring insight forward.

That ability to go deep, to research, to think critically, and to follow through on your curiosity really makes a difference.

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Starting Strong at Top Firms: First 90 Days Advice

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
We’ve got time for one final question. I’ll give you about a minute each and go in reverse alphabetical order this time.

Dan, let’s say someone impressed you, received an offer, and joined the firm. What does a strong start at Strategy& look like—day one, first three months, first six months?

Dan Hays (PwC Strategy&)
I’ll put this into two buckets: behaviors and skills.

From a behavior standpoint, we want new joiners to become part of the team as quickly as possible. Get to know people—your office, your practice, your project team. The worst thing you can do is sit back and wait for a project to come your way. It will come.

But building relationships early really accelerates development. Those relationships are what carry you forward.

From a skills standpoint, new joiners typically focus on two things. One is analytical skills—quantitative modeling, research, interviews, and now increasingly the use of AI. The other is communication—written, verbal, presentations, emails, slideware.

In all of this, ask for feedback. Feedback is a gift. People who actively seek it tend to grow much faster.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Couldn’t agree more.

Karl, what does a strong start at Capgemini Invent look like?

Karl Bjurstrom (Capgemini Invent)
Here in the U.S., we put new joiners into what we call the Institute for the first couple of months. The goal is to teach skills that people may not have learned in engineering school or business school and to help the cohort build relationships.

They engage with senior people and work on questions that come from real project teams, but in a safe environment. That prepares them before they go out to meet clients.

After the Institute period, it’s about getting onto projects, working with teams, meeting clients, and understanding what it means to be a consultant—everything from client expectations to how you show up in meetings with very senior stakeholders.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
Ron, same question. What does a strong start at Bain look like?

Ron Kermisch (Bain & Company)
I’d say three things.

First, invest in relationships, as Dan mentioned. Second, what we call “be at cause”—don’t just bring your manager a problem. Bring your manager the problem and a few potential solutions and work through it together.

And third, stay focused on the answer. It’s easy to get caught up in analysis, but always keep in mind what you’re ultimately trying to tell the client.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
And Gregor, to close us out.

Gregor Eichler (Altman Solon)
I think all of those answers resonate with me, so I’ll give a very practical example.

Pre-AI, interview note-taking was a common task, and we still do it today. What makes someone stand out is not just delivering the notes, but coming back to the engagement manager with five key takeaways and the next few things you would focus on for the client.

You still have the structured notes in the background if needed, but you drive the answer forward. You go beyond what was asked by identifying insights and next steps. That’s what differentiates strong consultants.

Rick Wilmot (Management Consulted)
All right—thank you, Gregor.