Our Consultants
Thomas Kessler joined Alden Advisory in 2002 and has led the firm's Operating Model Transformation practice since its founding.
Background
Thomas's work starts from a position that took him years to arrive at and that he now states plainly to every new client: the org chart is not the operating model. The real operating model is the pattern of who actually gets consulted, who actually signs off, and who actually gets blamed when a decision goes wrong — and that pattern is very often invisible to the people at the top of the chart.
He has led operating model engagements across every industry the firm serves, but has particular depth in branch network economics and the operating model consequences of digital channel shift in retail banking. His engagements are typically distinguished by an unusually long discovery phase — Thomas is known for pushing back on clients who want to skip straight to redesign.
He mentors most of the firm's principals during their first two years in the Operating Model practice and reviews every operating model diagnostic before it reaches a client.
"You cannot redesign a bank's operating model without first mapping who actually makes decisions today, not who's supposed to."
Thomas Kessler — Senior Partner, Head of Operating Model TransformationCurrent research
Representative work