McKinsey & Company launches offices in Ecuador and Uruguay

Global strategy and management consulting firm McKinsey & Company has entered Ecuador and Uruguay, bringing its footprint in Central & South America to 10 countries.

In Ecuador, McKinsey’s new office will build on the firm’s work in the country’s financial sector and look to diversify its client base to a range of industries, including agriculture, retail, consumer goods, and industry.

The Quito office will be led by Rafael Espinoza, an Ecuadorian who has been with the firm for seven years, and the Colombian Carlos Buitrago, who has been with McKinsey for eleven years. Both are partners.

“As an Ecuadorian, it’s always a dream to come back to your home country,” said Espinoza. “Ecuador has tremendous potential.”

Buitrago, who most recently spent building McKinsey’s office in Medellin, Colombia, said: “Entering Ecuador is a natural evolution of our regional strategy in Latin America. We’ve been growing for the last 20 years in different geographies, from Colombia, Peru, Chile; followed by Panama with an amazing story in Central America, and then the Dominican Republic. Ecuador is the next step of that journey of extending our presence.”

Meanwhile, McKinsey & Company – one of the world’s most prestigious consulting firms – also pushed into the Uruguay market with the launch of a new office in the coastal city of Montevideo.

Uruguay is the second smallest country in South America, set between the two largest, Argentina and Brazil. “But Uruguay has achieved remarkable growth over the last decade and is swiftly recovering from the pandemic,” said Alberto Fernandez, an associate partner who will co-lead the location with senior partner Xavier Costantini.

For Fernandez, the move represents a homecoming: “I was born and grew up in Uruguay – this is a very promising time, and it feels great to be back.” He has been with McKinsey for some eight years. Costantini meanwhile is a company veteran (22 years) and also the leader of the firm’s Sustainability practice across Latin America.

The Montevideo office, which will also serve clients in Paraguay and Bolivia, aims to expand to 60 people. The team will focus on topics such as management consulting, sustainable energy (98% of Uruguay’s power generation is renewable), digital, and data science, serving clients across sectors.

Earlier this year, McKinsey & Company acquired LOBO, a digital marketing operations firm in Argentina.