Navigant Consulting, Inc., founded in 1983 as The Metzler Group Inc., was a Chicago-based global management consulting firm specializing in industries such as healthcare, energy, and financial services. In 1999, the company rebranded to Navigant Consulting, Inc.
In August 2019, Guidehouse, a management consulting firm backed by Veritas Capital, announced its agreement to acquire Navigant in a transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion. The acquisition was completed in October 2019, resulting in the integration of Navigant’s expertise into Guidehouse’s operations.
This merger expanded Guidehouse’s capabilities, creating a diversified consulting firm with a global footprint, serving both commercial and public sector clients across various industries.
Brief History of Navigant Consulting
Navigant’s roots trace back to 1983, when Richard Metzler founded The Metzler Group Inc., a management consultancy focused on energy and other regulated industries. Below are key milestones in the firm’s evolution:
- 1983: The Metzler Group is founded by Richard Metzler, targeting clients in regulated sectors like energy.
- 1996: The company goes public on the NASDAQ (ticker: METZ).
- 1999: It rebrands as Navigant Consulting, Inc. and moves its listing to the NYSE.
- 2000: William M. Goodyear is appointed Chairman and CEO, steering the firm through rapid expansion.
- 2002–2010: Navigant grows through strategic acquisitions, extending into healthcare, financial, and litigation consulting. Notable buys include The Hunter Group (healthcare consulting, 2002) and Tucker Alan (litigation consulting, 2004), among others. These added deep expertise in healthcare systems, financial advisory, and dispute consulting.
- 2012: Julie Howard succeeds Goodyear as CEO, continuing Navigant’s focus on highly regulated industries.
- Late 2010s: The firm sharpens its specialization. In 2018, Navigant launched a joint venture with Baptist Health South Florida to provide revenue cycle management services in healthcare, bolstering its managed services offerings. That same year, Navigant sold its Disputes, Forensics & Legal Technology segment to Ankura Consulting for $470 million, streamlining to its core industries.
- 2019: Navigant’s board explores strategic alternatives and agrees to be acquired by Guidehouse, a portfolio company of Veritas Capital, for $1.1 billion (a cash buyout at $28 per share). The acquisition was announced in August 2019 and closed in October 2019, marking the end of Navigant as an independent company.
Over more than three decades, Navigant evolved from a niche energy consultancy into a diversified advisory firm. Its growth strategy involved targeted acquisitions to enter new verticals (like healthcare and financial services) and expand geographically. Each step in Navigant’s history was aimed at building a specialized, global consulting practice to anticipate and meet clients’ needs in changing markets.
Consulting Services, Industries, and Notable Projects
Navigant was known as a specialized global professional services firm, delivering a broad spectrum of consulting and outsourcing services. Its offerings spanned strategic, financial, operational, and technology consulting, as well as risk management, compliance, investigative solutions, dispute resolution, and business process outsourcing. This range allowed Navigant to help clients “build, manage, and protect” their business value across many challenges.
The firm primarily served highly regulated industries – notably healthcare, energy, and financial services. In healthcare, Navigant’s consultants (including former hospital administrators and clinicians) advised hospitals, health systems, payers, and life sciences companies on strategy, operations, and revenue cycle optimization. For example, Navigant formed a first-of-its-kind partnership with Baptist Health to manage clinical revenue cycles, creating a model for consistent, scalable healthcare consulting services. In the energy sector, Navigant (bolstered by its acquisition of Ecofys and other firms) guided utilities and governments through energy transition, climate strategy, and infrastructure projects. The firm’s financial services practice (often called Financial Services Advisory and Compliance) helped banks and financial institutions navigate complex regulatory requirements, risk management, and compliance issues – a critical need after the 2008 financial crisis.
Navigant also handled large-scale dispute and forensic investigations prior to 2018, offering expert testimony and construction litigation support. Its Global Construction practice alone had 180 specialists who provided advisory and expert witness services to hundreds of major capital projects annually across industries. Through this practice, Navigant consultants helped resolve project delays, cost overruns, and contract disputes on high-profile construction and infrastructure projects worldwide. Other notable engagements included advising government agencies on Medicaid program reforms and healthcare waivers, and conducting industry research (e.g. studies on hospital cost trends and supply chain savings) that positioned Navigant as a thought leader.
Industry Recognition: Navigant’s expertise earned it industry accolades. It was ranked No. 3 on Modern Healthcare’s 2018 list of “Largest Healthcare Management Consulting Firms,” reflecting its prominent role in healthcare consulting. The firm also received multiple Best in KLAS awards in the 2010s for excellence in revenue cycle outsourcing and was top-ranked in KLAS reports for impactful healthcare projects. These honors underscore Navigant’s reputation for delivering results in its focus sectors.
Pre-Acquisition Size and Financials
By the late 2010s, Navigant had grown to a mid-sized global consultancy. In 2018, the last full year before acquisition, Navigant reported total revenues of $743.6 million. (This was a modest increase from $714 million in 2017, despite the mid-2018 divestiture of a major practice.) The firm’s revenue was split among three segments: approximately 58% from healthcare, 21% from energy, and 21% from financial services advisory/compliance, illustrating the dominance of its healthcare practice. Net income from continuing operations in 2018 was $15.2 million, and Navigant was financially stable with a strategy focused on higher-margin consulting and managed services.
In terms of workforce and global presence, Navigant employed nearly 6,000 professionals across its worldwide offices. It had approximately 50–60 offices in total, with a footprint spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The Chicago headquarters oversaw a truly international operation – in 2018 Navigant served clients in 37 countries on six continents, managing over 2,600 client engagements that year. Major office locations included U.S. cities like Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, as well as international hubs in London, Berlin, Dubai, Singapore, and Shanghai. This global network positioned Navigant to support multinational clients and deliver local expertise in key regions.
Workforce Profile: Navigant’s nearly 6,000 employees comprised consultants, subject matter experts, and technologists. In 2018 the firm noted it had about 1,400 “expert” consultants (senior professionals with specialized domain expertise) and over 3,300 technology, data, and process staff supporting its solutions. This mix enabled Navigant to tackle complex projects requiring multi-disciplinary teams, from strategy consultants to data analysts. The firm also had a stable client base – 92% of its top 100 clients in 2018 were repeat customers, reflecting strong client relationships.
Overall, pre-acquisition Navigant was a ~$750 million revenue company with a global reach and roughly 5,000–6,000 employees. It had established itself as a leader in its chosen industries, albeit smaller than the Big Four consultancies or some diversified rivals. This solid platform made Navigant an attractive partner for Guidehouse’s growth plans in 2019.
The 2019 Acquisition by Guidehouse
In August 2019, Guidehouse (the former PwC public sector consulting practice backed by private equity firm Veritas Capital) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Navigant Consulting for approximately $1.1 billion. Navigant shareholders received a 16% premium at $28 per share in the all-cash deal. The strategic rationale for this acquisition was to combine two highly complementary consulting platforms: Guidehouse’s strength in U.S. public sector advisory with Navigant’s expertise in regulated commercial industries.
Strategic Rationale: Guidehouse’s CEO Scott McIntyre described the deal as “the next step in our journey to create the next generation global consultancy.” Guidehouse, at the time roughly a 2,000-person firm focused on federal and state clients, gained scale and domain depth by adding Navigant’s ~6,000 experts in healthcare, energy, and financial services. Navigant brought “exceptionally strong” capabilities in those commercial sectors – “some of the best minds in healthcare, energy, and financial services” – which complemented Guidehouse’s public sector strengths. From Navigant’s perspective, the sale offered shareholders immediate value and the opportunity for the business to thrive as part of a larger entity. “The combination of Navigant and Guidehouse will create a powerful, global consulting organization characterized by deep industry expertise and leading technical know-how,” said Navigant CEO Julie Howard in support of the deal. The Navigant board unanimously approved the transaction after a strategic review, signaling that joining Guidehouse was the best path for growth.
Impact on Operations: The acquisition was finalized in October 2019, after Navigant shareholder approval on October 10, 2019. Navigant then ceased trading on the NYSE and became part of privately held Guidehouse. The combined company adopted the Guidehouse name and branding from day one, to present a unified face to the market. Guidehouse’s headquarters remained in the Washington D.C. area (later moving to Tysons, VA in 2021 as the firm expanded). Importantly, Scott McIntyre continued as CEO of the combined firm, while Navigant’s CEO Julie Howard transitioned out of executive management (she was offered a seat on the Guidehouse board).
At closing, the merged Guidehouse had an estimated $1.3 billion in annual revenue and over 7,000 employees worldwide. It also boasted a global footprint of 50+ offices (with a particularly heavy U.S. presence) and significantly broadened service capabilities. In one stroke, Guidehouse transformed from a mainly public sector consultancy into a “unique consultancy with unparalleled scale in both regulated commercial end markets and the public sector that regulates those markets.” This new scale and scope would shape Guidehouse’s strategy and offerings in the years to come.
Integration of Navigant’s Expertise into Guidehouse
Post-acquisition, Guidehouse moved quickly to integrate Navigant’s teams and services, creating a combined organization that leveraged the strengths of both. The company retained practice leaders from both legacy firms, meaning Navigant’s industry and service line heads continued to run those areas within Guidehouse. For example, the leader of Navigant’s global Energy practice, Jan Vrins, became the head of Guidehouse’s Energy, Sustainability & Infrastructure segment, ensuring continuity in expertise. Similarly, Navigant’s healthcare and financial services leadership assumed key roles guiding those practices under the Guidehouse umbrella. This approach preserved institutional knowledge and client relationships, while blending the two cultures.
Guidehouse reorganized its offerings around both industry sectors and functional solutions, mirroring the combined capabilities. Navigant’s core industry verticals (healthcare, energy, and financial services) were integrated as dedicated segments in Guidehouse’s structure, alongside Guidehouse’s traditional public sector segments. By 2020, Guidehouse’s service lines included Health, Financial Services, Energy/Infrastructure (ES&I), as well as Defense, Security, and State & Local Government, covering the full spectrum of the merged firm’s focus areas. Navigant’s commercial market expertise directly deepened Guidehouse’s service portfolio: for instance, Navigant’s experience in hospital performance improvement and healthcare outsourcing became part of Guidehouse’s Health segment offerings, and its financial regulatory advisory practice expanded Guidehouse’s Risk & Compliance consulting capabilities.
The integration also meant expanding Guidehouse’s client base. Navigant’s longstanding clients in banking, energy utilities, and healthcare now had access to Guidehouse’s public sector expertise (and vice versa). This enabled cross-selling opportunities – e.g. bringing cybersecurity and defense-grade analytics (Guidehouse’s forte) to healthcare clients, or offering Navigant’s revenue cycle management solutions to government health agencies. “Together we will serve our clients with distinction around the world, helping them address their most difficult challenges… in order to drive global change,” said CEO Scott McIntyre of the combined mission. The emphasis was on “cross-market advancements”, where integrated teams tackle issues like healthcare public policy, energy regulation, and financial system resilience across both industry and government contexts.
Culturally and operationally, the merger was described as creating a “new type of consultancy focused on driving cross-market advancements.” Navigant’s private-sector orientation complemented Guidehouse’s public-sector heritage, allowing the firm to approach problems holistically. In practical terms, Navigant’s offices and staff were rebranded as Guidehouse, and common processes were established. The firm implemented shared technology platforms and knowledge management systems to unite the teams. By maintaining Navigant’s domain expertise and combining it with Guidehouse’s public sector knowledge and larger contracts infrastructure, the integrated company positioned itself as a top-tier advisor in regulated markets.
Notably, the merged Guidehouse continued to use Navigant’s established research units and intellectual capital. For instance, Navigant Research (known for market research in energy technology) became part of Guidehouse’s insights and analytics offerings, continuing to publish industry reports now under the Guidehouse name. The legacy Navigant managed services (such as its outsourcing centers in revenue cycle management and mortgage compliance) were likewise kept as part of Guidehouse’s Managed Services offerings. In sum, Navigant’s capabilities were not just absorbed but actively built into Guidehouse’s strategy, enabling the firm to deliver end-to-end solutions (from high-level advisory to operational execution) for both government and commercial clients.
Pre-Acquisition Navigant vs. Post-Acquisition Guidehouse
Positioning and Capabilities (Pre-Acquisition): Navigant, before being acquired, positioned itself as a specialist consultancy focused on a few heavily regulated sectors. It was midsized, with under $1 billion in revenue, and differentiated by deep industry expertise rather than broad generalist services. Navigant’s brand was tied to its expert credentials – e.g. experienced healthcare consultants, former regulators in financial services, PhD-level energy experts – and its ability to solve “high stakes” issues in industries facing significant change. The firm offered a mix of advisory and outsourced solutions (like managing back-office processes for clients), which was somewhat unique compared to pure strategy firms. However, Navigant had relatively limited exposure to the public sector (aside from consulting for government healthcare programs or utilities) and did not have the massive scale of larger consulting players.
Positioning and Capabilities (Post-Acquisition Guidehouse): After integrating Navigant, Guidehouse emerged as a larger, more diversified consultancy that bridged public and private sectors. The combined firm roughly doubled in size to over $1.3 billion in revenues, moving it closer to the scale of some established consulting firms. Its capabilities spanned management and technology consulting, risk advisory, and outsourcing, now serving both government agencies and commercial clients with equal weight. Guidehouse gained the industry depth that Navigant had, plus the public sector portfolio (in defense, national security, federal healthcare, etc.) that Guidehouse brought from its PwC heritage.
In practical terms, pre-acquisition Navigant’s strengths (healthcare, energy, financial compliance consulting) became core pillars of Guidehouse’s offerings. Meanwhile, Guidehouse’s pre-existing strengths (e.g. federal strategy, military and homeland security consulting, and financial management for government) complemented Navigant’s work in regulated industries. This expanded the addressable market for the firm – for example, Guidehouse could now pursue large federal healthcare transformation projects by leveraging Navigant’s commercial healthcare expertise, and approach energy clients with both regulatory policy know-how and operational consulting. The combined firm positioned itself as a leader in highly regulated domains: “The combination significantly deepens the industry expertise that Guidehouse delivers to its clients, across both the commercial and government sectors, in the highly regulated industries of healthcare, financial services, energy, national security, and aerospace & defense.” This quote from the merger announcement highlights that Guidehouse (post-acquisition) offers an unusual blend of capabilities across those sectors, setting it apart from competitors that focus on either government or industry, but not both.
One important change in positioning was the brand and go-to-market strategy. Navigant’s name was retired, and the unified company went forward as Guidehouse, signaling a broader mission beyond what Navigant alone represented. Guidehouse’s marketing emphasizes its ability to “outwit complexity” by combining public and private sector insights. In other words, the post-acquisition narrative is that Guidehouse can tackle challenges that span regulatory compliance, technological innovation, and mission-critical operations due to the melding of Navigant’s and Guidehouse’s competencies.
In summary, Navigant pre-merger was a highly focused expert firm in a few sectors, whereas Guidehouse post-merger is a global full-service consultancy with both that sector expertise and a strong public sector consulting arm. The acquisition moved Guidehouse up the ranks of consulting firms by size and capability. While Navigant stood out among mid-sized firms for its depth in certain areas, the combined Guidehouse can pitch itself as a top-tier advisor with end-to-end solutions across a range of industries — effectively, a one-stop shop for clients facing regulatory and transformational challenges in either private or public arenas.
Comparison with Peer Firms (FTI, Alvarez & Marsal, etc.)
Navigant (now part of Guidehouse) occupies a consulting niche that overlaps with several specialist advisory firms. Key peers include FTI Consulting and Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), among others, which also focus on financial, regulatory, and operational challenges. A comparison reveals both similarities and distinctions in focus and scale:
- FTI Consulting: FTI is a global consulting firm known for its strength in litigation support, forensic investigations, economic consulting, and corporate finance/restructuring. It is larger than Navigant was – for context, FTI generated $3.03 billion in revenue in 2022 (and $3.7 billion in 2024) and has over 7,700 employees in 31 countries. Like Navigant, FTI serves financial services and healthcare clients, but FTI’s work often centers on crisis situations (e.g. bankruptcy cases, legal disputes like the Enron investigation) and communications advisory. Navigant, by contrast, focused more on ongoing management consulting and performance improvement in regulated sectors rather than primarily one-time events or disputes. Post-acquisition Guidehouse is still smaller than FTI but competes in some areas such as financial crime consulting and healthcare strategy. Unlike FTI, Guidehouse (with Navigant’s legacy) also has a significant public sector service line, whereas FTI’s government work is more limited. Both firms emphasize deep expertise, but FTI’s brand is built on being a leading financial and forensic expert firm, while Navigant/Guidehouse positions itself as a multi-disciplinary regulatory and operations advisor.
- Alvarez & Marsal (A&M): A&M is another prominent consultancy, best known for restructuring and turnaround management (it famously led the restructuring of Lehman Brothers). Over the years A&M has expanded into broader performance improvement and advisory services. Estimates of its size vary since it’s private, but reports indicate A&M has on the order of 9,000–10,000 employees globally and annual revenues around $2 billion or more. This again is considerably larger than Navigant pre-2019 (~6k employees, $743M revenue). Alvarez & Marsal’s focus areas (restructuring, interim management, transaction advisory) differ from Navigant’s historical focus. Navigant did not do large-scale corporate turnarounds; instead it carved out a specialty in regulated industry consulting and risk management. However, there is some overlap: for example, A&M and Navigant both have served financial institutions in regulatory compliance, and both have healthcare consulting arms. The difference is A&M often steps in during financial distress or M&A situations, whereas Navigant was typically engaged for strategy, operational improvement, and analytics in a stable or growth context. Post-merger, Guidehouse competes with A&M in areas like financial services compliance and performance improvement. But Guidehouse (Navigant) would differentiate itself by its government expertise and its offerings in energy and sustainability, which have not been traditional areas for A&M.
- Other Peers: Navigant/Guidehouse also faces competition from other specialized firms like Ankura and Berkeley Research Group (BRG), and to some extent the advisory practices of Big Four firms and boutique healthcare consultancies. Ankura, for instance, directly acquired Navigant’s former disputes and forensic segment in 2018, instantly becoming a stronger competitor in investigative and litigation consulting (areas Navigant exited in the sale). Guidehouse’s focus after integrating Navigant is more on consulting and managed services rather than expert testimony, so it doesn’t directly go head-to-head with Ankura or BRG in courtroom consulting, but does in broader advisory. Compared to the Big Four (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG), Guidehouse is smaller but more specialized. The Big Four have larger footprints and do similar work in risk, financial, and government consulting; however, Guidehouse prides itself on being “highly differentiated” with a sole focus on consulting (no audit conflicts) and on regulated markets.
In summary, firms like FTI and A&M are in the same ecosystem as Navigant/Guidehouse, focusing on complex financial and operational challenges. Scale: Both FTI and A&M surpassed Navigant in size – even the combined Guidehouse (~$1.3B revenue in 2019) was smaller than FTI and on par or smaller than A&M. Service portfolio: Navigant/Guidehouse leans toward industry-focused consulting and government projects, whereas FTI and A&M lean toward transactions, restructuring, and litigation-related services (though they also offer consulting). Public sector: Guidehouse has a notable government consulting arm (thanks to its PwC Public Sector roots), which neither FTI nor A&M have at the same scale. This gives Guidehouse a unique edge in projects that involve public-private intersection (like advising government on healthcare or energy policy implementation). Reputation: All these firms market deep expertise. Navigant had built a reputation in healthcare and energy consulting, often ranking highly in those niches, while FTI is renowned for its expert witnesses and A&M for turnaround leadership. The acquisition by Guidehouse aimed to elevate Navigant’s platform to better compete with such peers by increasing scale and adding complementary services. Indeed, post-acquisition Guidehouse has been expanding rapidly (organically and via further acquisitions) to narrow the gap with these competitors, suggesting the combination has strengthened its position in the consulting marketplace.
Post-Integration Leadership and Strategic Changes
Following the integration of Navigant into Guidehouse, there were several notable leadership and operational changes to align the combined firm for growth:
- Leadership Transitions: As mentioned, Guidehouse CEO Scott McIntyre continued to lead the combined company, providing continuity from the Guidehouse side. Julie Howard, Navigant’s CEO, stepped away from day-to-day management. She did join the Guidehouse board of directors for a period, ensuring Navigant’s perspective was represented at the highest level. (By 2021, Howard had left the organization; she took on a new role as CEO of Riveron, another consultancy, in March 2021.) The heads of Navigant’s major business units (Healthcare, Energy, Financial Services, etc.) were retained in leadership positions within Guidehouse’s equivalent practices. This approach preserved institutional knowledge and client relationships, while blending the two cultures.
- Organizational Structure: Guidehouse restructured its operating segments to incorporate Navigant’s businesses. The new structure created industry-focused divisions (as noted earlier: e.g. Health, Energy & Infrastructure, Financial Services for commercial sectors, and National Security, Defense, State & Local for government sectors). Navigant’s former units were essentially folded into these or became these segments. This reorganization was both strategic and symbolic, demonstrating that the firm now covers a broad range of markets. By early 2020, internal reporting and branding fully reflected the combined practices. The Navigant brand name was retired – email addresses, websites (Navigant.com now redirects to Guidehouse.com), and marketing materials all shifted to the Guidehouse identity. This brand integration was completed relatively quickly, by late 2019, to send a message to the market that Guidehouse is one unified firm.
- Operational Integration: The firm undertook the typical post-merger integration activities – combining IT systems, harmonizing HR policies, and consolidating offices where overlap existed. For instance, in cities where both Navigant and Guidehouse had offices, they merged into a single location. Guidehouse’s move of its headquarters to Tysons, VA in 2021 can be seen as part of its post-merger growth trajectory (Tysons is a larger space to accommodate more staff and is close to Washington D.C., aligning with the public-sector roots). Guidehouse also unified its knowledge management and sales teams, allowing consultants from Navigant and Guidehouse to collaborate seamlessly on proposals. By late 2020, the company reported that the integration was successful and that they were operating as one firm to clients.
- Strategic Direction: After integrating Navigant, Guidehouse continued to pursue an aggressive growth strategy. Backed by Veritas Capital, Guidehouse made additional acquisitions to bolster capabilities – for example, acquiring Dovel Technologies in 2021 (to add advanced digital solutions and federal health IT capabilities) and Grant Thornton’s U.S. Public Sector advisory practice in 2022. These moves, while not directly part of the Navigant integration, were enabled by the larger platform that the Navigant deal created. Essentially, integrating Navigant’s commercial expertise gave Guidehouse the confidence and breadth to further expand. Strategically, Guidehouse positioned itself as a leader in regulated market consulting, reinforcing Navigant’s legacy strengths with new technology-driven services. The firm’s tagline “Outwit Complexity” and thought leadership campaigns highlight a unified approach to solving complex problems across industries, continuing the legacy of innovation that Navigant had fostered in its specialized domains.
- Culture and Talent: Culturally, Guidehouse worked to blend Navigant’s entrepreneurial, industry-specialist culture with its own public-sector consulting culture. The company emphasized common values and mission to employees (for example, a focus on innovation, integrity, and excellence, values that both organizations shared). There was an effort to retain top talent from Navigant – the fact that many of Navigant’s leaders stayed on helped in this regard. Guidehouse also maintained Navigant’s commitment to thought leadership: former Navigant experts continue to publish research (e.g. energy outlooks, healthcare studies) now under the Guidehouse name, which has helped the combined firm maintain visibility in those sectors.
In the years since the acquisition, the Guidehouse/Navigant integration is often cited as a success story in the consulting industry. The firm managed to grow substantially – as of 2023, Guidehouse had reportedly grown to over 16,000 employees and $3 billion in revenue through both organic growth and further M&A. This growth trajectory suggests that the Navigant acquisition provided a strong foundation. Leadership has also evolved: in late 2023, Guidehouse itself was set to be acquired by another investor (Bain Capital), which likely will fuel another phase of expansion. Through all these changes, Navigant’s influence is evident: its expertise in healthcare, energy, and finance remains central to Guidehouse’s identity, and many former Navigant professionals are now guiding the strategic direction of Guidehouse. The operational and strategic changes post-integration have thus cemented Navigant’s legacy within Guidehouse – creating a combined firm capable of tackling a wider array of client challenges than either could have on its own.
Sources
The information above is compiled from recent analyses and credible reports, including the firm’s own publications and reporting by reputable outlets.
