Tiburon is hiring! Specifically, the firm plans to add either a chief consulting officer and/or two-to-three incremental principals (the most senior role at the firm). The firm also intends to add several more research and marketing managers in 2008-2009. Current opportunities are highlighted below.

Tiburon Strategic Advisors

Tiburon Strategic Advisors was formed in 1998 to offer market research, strategy consulting, and other related services primarily to senior executives in the financial services industry. All Tiburon principals & managers are primarily engaged in the business of conducting research, drawing conclusions, creating & fulfilling demand, & providing advice to the firm’s clients (and sometimes to the firm itself). Tiburon’s business structure is akin to being a boutique version of McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, or Boston Consulting Group, and it is probably most like Bain & Company, in that it is intentionally retaining its entrepreneurial culture (think of Tiburon as a profitable firm with a ten-year successful track-record but still with a start-up firm’s culture, energy, & rewards systems).

Tiburon is positioned as an upscale business-to-business enterprise serving well-seasoned executives. Three of Tiburon’s core clientele groups are the CEOs and other senior executives of large US financial institutions faced with difficult strategic decisions, leading executives of foreign financial institutions trying to understand and/or enter the US markets, and a long list of venture capital & private equity firms, and investment banks, making investments in, and executing transactions in, areas where Tiburon has developed proprietary insights. The firm has served over 300 corporate clients and completed over 1,100 projects since its founding, and today, its knowledge base includes topics such as consumer wealth, mutual fund distribution, separately managed account programs, alternative investments, wealth management, insurance products, banking services, the fee-only financial advisor market, the CPA firm market, the family office market, and various international markets.

Tiburon’s products & services are relatively expensive, with its least expensive product (its off-the-shelf research reports) costing $5,000 and most market research & strategy consulting assignments being billed at above $100,000. The firm has organized its products & services into a group of moderately-priced products (which include its research reports, research report retainers, database access program, and conference speeches) and a group of higher-end services (which include its market seminars, market research projects, strategy consulting projects, and executive counseling, advisory retainers, & board roles); the research that Tiburon’s principals & research managers complete and the documents that they develop are the crux of what the firm delivers to its clients. Practically, Tiburon principals & research managers read a lot of newspaper clippings, surf a lot of web sites, execute proprietary research, and then in very well-defined ways, translate this information into PowerPoint presentation pages, draw conclusions, & structure those conclusions into documents, allowing the firm to use these documents to offer general & specific business advice to its clients. Tiburon’s principals & marketing managers then design & manage efforts to share the firm’s research, build its brand, and then assess & manage the resulting inbound client & prospect inquires by assessing & fulfilling their needs.

Tiburon offers research & marketing managers a broad learning and participatory experience across the financial services industry, with frequent exposure to executive-level thinking. As a general rule, strategy consulting firms offer substantial levels of responsibility to their principals & managers along with potentially high rewards structures. Furthermore, because of its initial single-principal business model, Tiburon has been built around the objective of giving even more than traditional levels of responsibility & autonomy to its research & marketing managers. For all roles at Tiburon, both principals & managers execute special assignments & tasks under only general supervision, and they are expected to customarily & regularly exercise discretion & independent judgment to many matters of substantial importance & consequences to both Tiburon & its clients. On a daily basis, Tiburon research & marketing managers will compare & evaluate various courses of conduct and make decisions with consequences, often free from direct supervision. This role is far from a production-oriented role. The firm’s research managers primarily engage in designing & managing the majority of the firm’s research efforts, conducting analyses, drawing conclusions, and structuring those conclusions into documents which are shared with clients, often with substantial autonomy. Tiburon’s marketing managers primarily engage in designing & managing dozens of marketing efforts intended to share Tiburon’s research, build its brand, & create inbound inquires, and then they interact with mid- & senior-level clients on a daily basis seeking to identify & fulfill their needs. In short, Tiburon seeks to help research & marketing managers learn its established processes and to build their careers at Tiburon, following a path to becoming firm principals.

Tiburon’s culture requires accuracy, accountability, efficiency, productivity, and professionalism. Time is the scarce commodity in the strategy consulting business and with its initial single principal model, Tiburon diligently guards it; in other words, successful candidates need to be efficient, work with limited supervision, and be productive to succeed at Tiburon. Tiburon’s office can reflect a library on many days, with all employees devoted to their own assignments.

Tiburon rewards success, specifically offering merit-based compensation & advancement opportunities, most notably shown by research & marketing managers’ ability to conduct insightful research, draw accurate & insightful conclusions, create & fulfill client demand, and help less experienced managers succeed. Tiburon has worked diligently to make its work environment enjoyable in order to enable high performing managers to succeed; the Tiburon setting & office design are quite pleasing (no cubicles!), casual dress, music, & office dogs are allowed on some days, and the firm tries to allow employees to earn half-day Fridays (based on hitting revenue goals), and tries to host office wine-tasting parties periodically. Research & marketing managers who efficiently produce high-quality work will find Tiburon to offer substantial levels of responsibility & accountability, merit-based rewards systems, and a great work environment.

Current Openings

Specifically, Tiburon has openings in three areas:

• Chief Consulting Officer, Principals, & Associate Principals: Tiburon would like to add either a chief consulting officer and/or a team of two-to-three principals and associate principals in the later half of 2008 or in 2009. The mid-term objective is for these executives to take over leadership of all Tiburon market research & strategy consulting assignments. Detailed job descriptions are included below. The firm is open to receiving such proposals. In the near-term, Tiburon is also considering hiring a principal level person to become chief operating officer; management consulting experience is required for this role and this person would likely join the aforementioned principal team in moving to the consulting business after some time.
• Research Managers: Tiburon is seeking to two more research managers before June 1. Successful candidates are welcome to start early, participate in in-progress research efforts, and join the group with their own report responsibilities on that date. College summer interns will be considered. A detailed job description is included below.
• Marketing & Administration Managers: Tiburon has no current marketing or administration department openings.

Consulting Department: Chief Consulting Officer, Principals, & Associate Principals

Tiburon's key opportunity now is to add additional principals to leverage its client relationships and industry knowledge.  It is expected that new principals (and associate principals) will independently lead market research & strategy consulting assignments with existing Tiburon clients, or possibly new clients that they would source. The crux of the opportunity though is to leverage the firm's client relationships, research, and infrastructure that have been built over the past ten years. Tiburon's managing principal wants to transition project and employee leadership in the near-term, repositioning himself to focus more on marketing and research, and also wants to transition client and firm leadership in the medium term.

Becoming a principal or associate principal at Tiburon is an excellent opportunity for mid-career strategy consultants who have gained experience with top-tier strategy consulting firms, and who may now wish to pursue more entrepreneurial opportunities. As Tiburon's managing principal focuses more of his efforts on running the firm, marketing, assessing client needs, and driving the firm's research agenda, Tiburon expects these other principals to lead the majority of client engagements, and the firm is prepared to kick-start all new principals and associate principals by introducing them to the firm's extensive client base.

The Tiburon principal (or associate principal) role is for experienced management consultants who have learned and successfully applied strategy consulting processes. The best candidates likely have gone into the financial services industry and/or served financial services companies extensively. As compared to the model of the leading management consulting firms, the best candidates for Tiburon may bring more industry expertise, may be a little more research focused, and may be more hands-on. But that said, the role is similar to that at the larger strategy firms.

Candidates for the roles of principal and associate principal need to have gained experienced at one of the top-tier strategy consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group (e.g., Tiburon's managing principal is an alumnus of McKinsey & Company). A careful balance of consulting skills, industry experience, and research aptitude is required. Principal and associate principal candidates must be able to develop and maintain excellent client relationships and independently lead multiple projects. New principals must also be devoted to continuing Tiburon's research-based model and driving multiple areas of the firm's core research. Ideal candidates may have overlapping expertise and/or expertise in areas related to the firm's core brokerage & investment management clientele; obvious synergistic areas include banking, insurance, institutional asset management, capital markets, corporate & capital governance, leadership & change management, technology, operations, and M&A strategy. The job description for the a successful new principal would likely include the following:

• Leading numerous client projects
• Managing three-to-six Tiburon research managers in assisting with client engagements
• Publishing three (in-progress) Tiburon research reports

In a boutique environment, the three key challenges for new principals appear to be:

• Role & Compensation: New principals will necessarily need to create and be rewarded on incremental revenues for any economic equation to be manageable
• Onboarding Process: Due to the firm's existing single-principal structure, a systematic onboarding process will be required (possibly longer than some would like)
• Mid-Term Leadership Potential: Tiburon's managing principal will likely look to transition some leadership functions in the short- and medium-term; proven ability to take on such leadership roles will be a key ingredient in finding the best candidates

There appear to be two ways to effect the transition Tiburon is seeking to make:

• The first alternative for Tiburon is to add an experienced chief consulting officer (also a principal) to build out a team of principals (and associate principals).
• The second alternative may be to find an existing team of two-to-three principals who have a history of working together and who could lead Tiburon's market research & strategy consulting business, building out the said team.

Compensation Package

Compensation for principals and associate principals will be structured similarly to that at other management consulting firms, consisting of draws based on previous Tiburon results and annual profit sharing allocations. Principals will be compensated substantially on project sales and execution; the firm's current model allocates a percentage of project revenues to sales, research, marketing & administration, and equity, while still allocating the largest share to execution. Early principals may be eligible for higher percentage payouts as they will be expected to continue to help build the infrastructure and find additional principals. After an initial period, draws can be established based on realized revenues; draws of $300,000-$500,000 would seem realistic based on $500,000+  compensation expectations for principals, with additional compensation paid annually. A substantial level of commitment will be expected of all new executives; compensation will follow, not lead.

Tiburon hopes to add an initial two-to-three principals and associate principals in Tiburon so that they are best able to leverage the existing firm engine and be available to directly lead research managers in market research & strategy consulting projects. Beyond that, Tiburon will be willing to explore the addition of new offices. A moderate amount of travel is projected for new principals and associate principals. All roles are obviously exempt from overtime pay. The firm is not interested in contractor relationships or assistance from recruiters.

Chief Operating Officer

Tiburon is considering the addition of a chief operating officer. Substantial management consulting experience would be required to perform this role. Tiburon is open to receiving proposals.

Research Department

Research Managers

The Tiburon research manager position is a unique opportunity for BA/BS or MA/MBA graduates and a research aptitude to enter into the consulting industry and learn research and consulting processes. Prior consulting experience is not necessary, but rather new research managers will be expected to quickly learn & apply Tiburon’s well-established research & consulting processes. Content knowledge is also not a pre-requisite and may even make one believe that they are more qualified than is true; Tiburon’s clients are generally the CEOs of their businesses, so they are quite well-versed in basic (and often advanced) industry content. Content is learned at Tiburon by reading the firm’s existing research reports, reading newspaper clippings & web sites, and incorporating new learnings, allowing new research managers to publish updated versions of Tiburon research reports. Experience has taught the firm that backgrounds in research, debate, history, journalism, and/or business may be most helpful.

Research managers at Tiburon play two essential roles

• First and foremost, Tiburon research managers design & manage the majority of the firm’s research efforts, conduct analyses, draw conclusions, and structure those conclusions into proprietary Tiburon research content to be published as a series of Tiburon research reports, with new reports due every sixty days, which the firm sells for $5,000
  
• Second, quickly advancing research managers (and all senior research managers) will be tapped frequently by principals to conduct tailored research, draw conclusions, make recommendations, and present documents to senior client executives for client projects that often are billed at $100,000+
  

Near-term success will be measured by research managers publishing a series of research reports and meeting specific deadlines throughout the process. Nearly 100% of time will be invested in designing & conducting research efforts, conducting analyses, drawing conclusions, making recommendations, and presenting documents. Success will also be measured by the quality of the research produced, as evaluated through client feedback, peers, and Tiburon principals.

Mid-term opportunities for successful research managers are enormous at Tiburon. By repeatedly publishing top-notch research reports, successful research managers will have the opportunity to conduct (and ultimately lead) more customized client market research & strategy consulting projects. Successful Tiburon research managers will also likely be invited by media representatives (already known to the firm) to comment on industry developments, and by conference planners (already known to the firm) to present at conferences. Furthermore, the firm presents unique stand-alone business opportunities; for example, it needs a research manager to build its tools business. And possibly the most exciting opportunities for the firm (and for successful research managers) involve mergers, acquisitions, venture capital, and private equity projects demanded by the firm’s existing clients. The opportunities are endless but all are contingent upon new research managers devoting substantial time to soundly learning the firm’s research processes, and repeatedly publishing research reports on the firm’s sixty day report writing cycle.

Tiburon research managers meet periodically with the firm’s managing principal to discuss research content, and report to a senior research manager, who will oversee and teach Tiburon’s processes. Self-management, multi-tasking, independent judgment, and daily deliverables will be critical for success. The crux of Tiburon’s employee value proposition is to offer research managers vastly more responsibility than at other strategy consulting firms, with exposure to broader levels of thinking and higher levels of executives, along with a merit-based compensation plan. Because of the clear direction and huge amounts of responsibility, many of Tiburon’s most successful research managers chose to work long hours to capitalize on the very lucrative potential salary raise plan, which is substantially based on the thoroughness & thoughtfulness of their research reports.

Tiburon’s single industry-orientation (financial services) makes the research manager role a bit akin to the stock analyst role at major investment banks. In a similar way, Tiburon’s research managers are challenged to understand an industry and a firm’s position within it. But unlike the stock analyst role, the Tiburon research manager role is oriented towards clients’ strategies, not their stock prices.

Periodically, new (and sometimes experienced) research managers will be assigned critical duties necessary to help Tiburon succeed as a small business. These duties in no way are intended to take away from this job description, alter the career path, or change the role’s exempt status.

Qualifications

More than any particular degree or experience, success in strategy consulting seems to come to those who are research-oriented, organized, conclusion-oriented, and motivated. Tiburon has developed the following qualifications list for this role to represent its desire to find team members with those aptitudes:

• BA/BS or MA/MBA: This is clear. As an aside, candidates with MBAs are encouraged to apply; if one executes at an MBA level, they should be able to earn frequent & substantial salary raises (see salary raise plan)
  
• Work Experience: Two-to-five years of experience would be ideal. The understanding that this role is based on research, conclusions, & recommendations often comes from having the opposite - a more production-oriented role
  
• Motivation, Research-Aptitude, Organization, Attention-to-Detail, Energy, & Resiliency: More than anything, success in this role will be had by candidates that are motivated, tackle research head-on, stay organized, and work hard
  
• Common Sense & Street Smarts: This is a job for folks who can figure it out; the best school pedigree or highest grades often don’t reveal this
  
• Perspective: The strategy consulting business provides enormous potential for candidates in the medium-term; in other words, candidates need to remember that this is a long-distance run, not a sprint; the team wins collectively over time
  
• Basic Power Point Skills: The key here is speed, not advanced skills. Advanced skills are unimportant as they will not be utilized; instead, the ability to follow existing formats and move quickly is key
  
• Availability: Candidates must be available to interview immediately, be currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area, have an existing legal right to work in the US, be willing to prepare for the role, and be available to begin work by May 1.
  

All research manager roles need to be in Tiburon, CA, at this time. The firm is not interested in telecommuters, contractor relationships, or assistance from recruiters.

Compensation Package

All new employees in Tiburon’s research & consulting department will start as research managers until they have shown comprehensive knowledge of Tiburon’s processes, at which point they can be considered for the role of senior research manager, which comes with less direction from the firm’s managing principal but higher potential compensation. Tiburon hopes to reward successful managers over time through a clearly-defined (and substantial) salary increase plan. Hence, the compensation package for this role is:

• A $52,000 base salary, paid monthly. Tiburon pays via direct deposit on approximately the 25th day of each month
  
• Benefits including comprehensive medical insurance and twenty days paid time off (including vacation, personal days, sick days, etc.), both starting after 90 days of successful employment. Tiburon also honors all New York Stock Exchange holidays and all employees are granted their birthday and hire date anniversary as special holidays, allowing a total of about 30 paid days off per year
  
• Prompt and frequent salary increases of up to $2,000 for research managers (and up to $5,000 for senior research managers) at the completion of each incremental research report on the firm’s sixty day cycle. In other words, the most successful candidates who start at $52,000, learn Tiburon’s processes comprehensively, and produce high-quality reports every sixty days, can aim to reach $64,000 within one year in the research manager role or $82,000 in the senior research manager role
  
• Ultimately, after reaching a (yet-to-be-determined) level of profitability, senior research managers (along with principals) will become eligible for periodic Tiburon recognition bonuses. Bonuses will be offered in specific recognition of substantial revenue generating activities such as contributions to client projects beyond expectations, excess efforts at publishing Tiburon research reports, exceedingly successful marketing efforts, and managing difficult internal projects
  

All Tiburon research manager roles are exempt from overtime pay. All Tiburon research managers are subject to a three month probation period without benefits; any needed time off during this three month period will be deducted from the given salary schedule. Tiburon research manager roles are challenging; employees should seek out regular feedback from their assigned supervisors and/or mentors. No specific salary raise or bonus plan exists for any individual research manager. Continued employment will be based on individual and company performance. Tiburon will not offer severance to research managers who do not succeed.

Marketing & Administration Department

Tiburon has no current marketing or administration department openings.

Tiburon Careers Process

Prior to applying for this job, please:

• Thoroughly review Tiburon’s web site at www.TiburonAdvisors.Com to gain a comprehensive understanding of the firm’s products (which include its research reports, research report retainers, database access program subscriptions, and conference speeches), its services (which include its market seminars, market research projects, strategy consulting projects, and retainers, executive counseling, & board roles), and its research processes and document structures
  
• Also please visit the web sites of leading strategy consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company to better understand the consulting industry, and understand Tiburon’s position within the broader market
  
• There are even two books in the library called The McKinsey Way and The McKinsey Mind. Reading such would prepare one well for an interview at Tiburon

If you are interested in applying for the position, please email a cover letter explaining how you would fulfill this job’s specific requirements, and include a resume. Please send these to Careers@TiburonAdvisors.Com. Tiburon will contact qualified candidates promptly. Thanks & good luck!

If you are interested in (and qualified) for a role as a principal or associate principal, please also contact Tiburon's managing principal directly.

Other senior industry executives may be interested in Tiburon's CEOs-in-Residence or Consultant Fellows programs. The CEOs program is for retired CEOs from throughout the industry who want to stay actively involved in some capacity. The Consultant Fellows program is for executives that have set up industry-focused consulting businesses in complementary capacities to Tiburon's services. You may also find the information in the Tiburon People and the About Tiburon sections helpful.