Oliver Wyman - Retail Operations & AI - Principal

Retail Operations & AI Principal

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in more than 70 cities across 30 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has more than 6,000 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a business of Marsh McLennan. For more information, visit

Practice Groups: Consumer, Telco, & Technology (CTT) & Performance Transformation (PT)

Location: Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington DC

In Consumer, Telco, and Technology (CTT), we see consumer-facing industries converging, with technology continuing to disrupt all business models, and B2C, B2B and B2B2C services models ever-growing. We are aiming to build new Partner connections by bringing together those serving consumer facing businesses, such as retailers, as well as technology, communications, media and services, in order to further elevate our narratives and exco-relevance while maintaining deep sub-sector capabilities.

Retail (sector within CTT practice)

Oliver Wyman is the leader in sustained impact for our clients in retail. We deliver significant improvements in our clients' sales growth and profitability often in situations where the business model requires rejuvenation or reinvention. Our approach combines deep industry knowledge, state-of-the-art analytics, a willingness to roll-up our sleeves to dive into problems and the proven ability to achieve lasting change fast.

Oliver Wyman supports the world's largest retailers on their toughest merchandising and operational challenges. We have strong expertise and experience in food, mass, drug, home, office, and specialty sectors, combining strategy with tactical day-to-execution and decision-support. Oliver Wyman helps clients navigate disruptive new formats and changing consumer sentiments. Much of the work that we do involves cutting-edge analytics, including AI.

The Principal position offers excellent career and growth opportunities for talented, highly motivated professionals with significant prior experience. As a professional member of our firm, your initial responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Providing day to day leadership of client projects and aspects of the client relationship and commercial process within those relationships, teaming with Partners and sharing responsibility for the success of a specific engagement(s)
• Leading and managing complex programs of multi-disciplinary teams (including consultants, data scientists, data engineers, etc.) to ensure on-time delivery that meets agreed upon goals, leveraging Oliver Wyman best practice, their own expertise and the firm's technical competence
• Guiding and influencing clients in an informed way across all situations including execution of the commercial process, becoming trusted advisors.
• Engaging fully in building business by identifying new and expanded opportunities
• Creating exciting and additive intellectual capital through thought leadership and demonstrating knowledgeable on a broad range of adjacent topics.
• Developing others and building a followership as part of their asset building for the firm
• Leading firm building activities, seen as a role model for firm values with a strong personal brand within and outside of the firm and are well regarded by Partners, peers, and clients

Principals serve as the primary contact point for senior client executives and Oliver Wyman consultants staffed on client engagements. While specific responsibilities will vary based on previous experience the ideal candidate will have the following:

• 7+ years of experience in strategy consulting and/or Retail industry experience
• Strong background in conceptual problem solving and analytical skills
• Quantitative, technical toolkit including proficiency in SQL and Python
• Machine learning, data science, AI/ genAI capabilities preferred
• Track record of leading and managing teams and delivering against tight deadlines in fast-paced and demanding environments
• Outstanding communication skills; confidence in presenting to senior executives
• Undergraduate or advanced degree from a top academic program
• Willingness to travel (at least 50% of the time)

Working as part of our global, entrepreneurial company, you'll do meaningful work from day one. We're looking for individuals who challenge the norm, and constantly strive to build something new for the firm and the world around us. At Oliver Wyman, there's no "one size fits all" - we hire exceptional people and help them thrive through a built-in support network, flexible career paths, and no artificial barriers to advancement. We have a collaborative, supportive and impactful team environment - we want you to bring your authentic self and enjoy working alongside diverse and down-to-earth colleagues who do serious work, but don't take themselves too seriously.

We're serious about making OW a rewarding, progressive, enjoyable and balanced place to work.

• Self-starters and free thinkers who work well in a team
• Common aspiration, collective endeavor, shared success
• Straightforward, open, respectful interaction
• Opportunity without artificial barriers
• Balanced lives

We value people whose lives balance work and non-work activities because we believe they are both more interesting colleagues and are able to make better contributions to the Firm. We push ourselves hard to deliver excellence, but we also work to extract the maximum benefit from the flexibility of a project-based business. We provide the ability to take career breaks for personal or family reasons. We fundamentally value each other's time and are sensitive to how it is used. We are an output not input-based culture, have respect for people's personal decisions, and believe that one's workload must be sustainable. We seek balance for ourselves and our colleagues.