{{Infobox company | name = Proudfoot | logo = Proudfoot logo.svg | type = Private | key_people = Neil O'Brien (Chairman & CEO) | industry = Management consulting services | revenue = | num_employees = | founded = Chicago, USA, 1946 | hq_location = London, United Kingdom | website = [http://www.proudfoot.com www.proudfoot.com] }}

'''Proudfoot''' is a consulting company. The company provides professional services across a wide range of industries and sectors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcgplc.com/glance |title=Management Consulting Group PLC - MCG at a glance |website=www.mcgplc.com |access-date=2017-04-03}}</ref>

==Naming== The company was originally named Alexander Proudfoot PLC, after its founder. In 1993 it shortened its name to Proudfoot PLC. In January, 2001 it changed its name to the current name of Management Consulting Group, PLC.<ref name="mcgplc.com">[http://www.mcgplc.com/company_history Management Consulting Group PLC - Company History]</ref>

==Timeline== * '''1946''' - Mr Alexander "Alec" Proudfoot founded the Alexander Proudfoot Company in Chicago, USA. He led the business until his death in 1968, when the company was bought from his widow by senior management. * '''1960s''' - Proudfoot began its expansion from Chicago, first in the USA and then in collaboration with Unibanco in Brazil. * '''1970s''' - Proudfoot began operations in Europe, and opened a London office. * '''1980s''' - To expand its global scope Proudfoot opened a Singapore branch, followed by one in Sydney shortly afterwards. By the late eighties Proudfoot had offices across the Asia-Pacific region. * '''1989''' - Alexander Proudfoot PLC purchased Philip Crosby Associates, then a US Stock Exchange publicly traded company. This company deteriorated in the mid-1990s, closed in 1996 and partially resold in 1997 to its original owner. * '''1991''' - Alexander Proudfoot PLC took over from Indevo, a strategy consultancy with its Stockholm head office. Part of the business was sold and the remainder closed in 1993. * '''1993''' - Proudfoot PLC has changed its name to Proudfoot PLC. * '''2000''' - IMR Europe, a Proudfoot clone with significant presence in France and Spain, was bought by Proudfoot PLC. * '''2001''' - The name of Proudfoot PLC was changed to Management Consulting Group PLC.

==Proudfoot==

===Overview=== Proudfoot is a consulting company eponymous of its founder, Alexander Proudfoot, that was founded in Chicago, Illinois during 1946. Over its history it has also opened offices in South Africa, Hong Kong, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Chile, UK and Mexico City. The company was initially known as Proudfoot Consulting PLC, and changed its name to that of its founder in 2009. The company provides strategies for improving the financial and operational infrastructure of client companies. Industries that the company has worked within include the defense industry, automotive industry, banking and construction sectors, insurance, life sciences, mining, oil and gas, manufacturing and retail, telecommunications, and transportation.<ref name="BusinessWeekProfile">{{cite web |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=8057493 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616122412/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=8057493 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 16, 2009 |title=Alexander Proudfoot |publisher=Businessweek |accessdate=June 25, 2014}}</ref> The firm works with private and public companies, and is hired to improve the efficiency of those companies over either short-term or long-term contracts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/1983/1010/136.html |accessdate=June 25, 2014 |title=Are All These Consultants Really Necessary? |date=October 10, 1983 |work=Forbes Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/alexander-proudfoot-lands-another-consulting-contract-1.1145387 |publisher=CBC |title=Alexander Proudfoot lands another consulting contract |date=November 15, 2012 |accessdate=June 25, 2014}}</ref> Their CEO is Neil O'Brien and the executive chairman is Nick Stagg.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/AN_1394016767544062400/management-consultings-alexander-proudfoot-loses-its-chief-executive.aspx |title=Management Consulting's Alexander Proudfoot Loses Its Chief Executive |date=March 5, 2014 |accessdate=June 25, 2014 |publisher=Morning Star}}</ref>

===Studies=== Proudfoot also produces studies regarding workforce dynamics. A 2007 study of theirs showed that during that year, the manufacturing sector had a 37% rate of unproductive work force time, and that worldwide companies were 29% below optimum productive efficiency.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=673SsI_zmBcC&q=alexander+proudfoot+productivity+report+-alexanderproudfoot.com+-mcgplc.com&pg=PA83 |page=83 |title=Classic Productivity Systems for the Assembly Manufacturer Or Distribution Center |year=2011 |isbn=9781462021963 |last1=Associates |first1=J. D. Gray }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/13/business/bulletin-board-working-9-to-5-give-or-take.html |accessdate=June 25, 2014 |work=New York Times |date=October 13, 2002 |title=BULLETIN BOARD; Working 9 to 5, Give or Take |author=Macaulay Campbell}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.focus.de/finanzen/karriere/berufsleben/arbeitszeit/tid-12574/produktivitaetsstudie-deutsche-vertroedeln-arbeitszeit_aid_348389.html |title=Deutsche vertrödeln Arbeitszeit |date=November 17, 2008 |language=German |accessdate=June 25, 2014 |publisher=Focus}}</ref> Further studies by the firm showing non-productivity have shown that the fault is not always with the employees, and that often the lack of productivity is the result of bad or faulty management.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB109441655407210031 |accessdate=June 25, 2014 |publisher=Wall Street Journal |title=Slowing European Productivity May Be Boss's Fault, Study Says |author=G. Thomas Sims |date=September 6, 2004}}</ref> In 2009 a study by Alexander Proudfoot showed that on average a salesperson only spends one fifth of their day actually prospecting or closing sales, and usually believes they have spent twice the time they actually have on sales work.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.baylor.edu/business/kellercenter/news.php?action=story&story=126314 |publisher=Baylor University |accessdate=June 25, 2014 |title=Necessary Condition #3 - The Right Day-to-Day Operational Focus |author=Charles Fifield}}</ref>

==See also== * OC&C Strategy Consultants

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.proudfoot.com Official Website] *[https://procesbouwers.nl/ Process Consultancy]

Category:Consulting firms established in 1946 Category:Management consulting firms of the United Kingdom