HQ: CHICAGO
GROWTH RATE: 142%
AArete is a Chicago-based management consulting firm that specializes in operational performance
improvement and strategic cost
reduction. The firm works with clients across all industries and business functions to optimize profits
in a compressed timeframe and
without reducing people. AArete
identifies and implements bottom
line improvements through sourcing methodologies, Big Data analytics, proprietary revenue cycle
optimization techniques, and the
Knowledge Management Center, an
internal intellectual property repository with benchmarking data and
industry focused studies. CEO and
Managing Director Loren Trimble
sat down with Consulting to discuss
the firm’s financial performance, including its 142 percent growth rate
and No. 26 ranking on this year’s
Fastest Growing Firms list.
Consulting: What were the main
factors that contributed to your
firm’s exceptional growth?
Trimble: AArete’s primary reason
for growth is the people we recruit,
retain and their willingness to pursue
excellence. We can only deliver services that are in high demand if we
have the best talent. We have great
clients that are growing significantly
and have matched our solutions with
the services they need to grow and
remain competitive.
Consulting: How is this year
shaping up for your firm?
Trimble: After a year of 64 percent
growth, we planned our growth to be
less this year and are on track to be
twice the size we were at the end of
2014. This is a year we have prepared
for scaling excellence and positioning us for future growth. We have
focused on new clients while maintaining existing clients and have increased our client base by 25 percent
which again positions us for growth.
Consulting: How would you
describe your firm’s outlook for
2017? Where do you see the
most opportunities?
Trimble: We are well-positioned to
accomplish our goals and plans for
2017 and beyond. Next year we are
planning 30 percent to 35 percent
growth. 2017 will bring more growth
in our Advanced Data Analytics solu-
tions. Our largest opportunities will
be the further integration of struc-
tured and unstructured data analytics
into the solutions we provide to our
clients. We will continue to maintain
our outstanding culture and expand
our unique and talented team. Last-
ly we expect to leverage the scalable
operations we have built over the last
18 months to serve more clients in a
deeper and more meaningful way.
Consulting: What would you
say are your firm’s biggest
challenges in 2017?
Trimble: The war for talent will
be a challenge for the next several
years. While we have built a strong
culture and invested in training our
people, we still expect recruiting
and retaining people to deliver the
increased revenues to be a challenge. Another challenge will be
continuing to provide data intensive solutions that outpace competition and serve the evolving needs
of our client base.
Consulting: What does being
named one of Consulting’s
Fastest Growing Firms mean to
your firm, your employees and
your clients?
Trimble: Receiving this recognition
is great for our people as they see
their efforts rewarded in the marketplace. Additionally, this recognition
helps strengthen the AArete brand
which should help with serving our
ever growing client base.
AARETE LLC