- Consulting, Banking, PE Lead the Charge: Cluster 1 sees strong demand across six high-impact cohorts
- BCG Tops Recruiter Charts: Global majors dominate offers in consulting and financial services
- Hybrid Hiring in Action: Clusters 2 & 3 slated for February 6 and 9
NE EDUCATION BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, FEB 4
The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) successfully conducted Cluster 1 of the Final Placement process for its PGP Class of 2026 on Tuesday, marking a strong and confident start to one of the country’s most closely watched campus recruitment seasons.
Cluster 1 witnessed participation from 47 leading firms, structured across six cohorts—investment banking & markets; management consulting; transformation & operations consulting; advisory consulting; cards & financial advisory; and private equity, venture capital & asset management. The process was conducted in a hybrid mode, offering recruiters the flexibility to engage with candidates either virtually or on campus, reflecting the evolving dynamics of corporate hiring.
The management consulting cohort emerged as a major highlight, with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) standing out as the largest recruiter with 33 offers. Other marquee consulting firms included Alvarez & Marsal, Bain & Company, Kearney, and McKinsey & Company, underlining sustained demand for top-tier consulting talent from IIMA.
In the transformation and operations consulting cohort, recruiters such as Accenture Strategy, Analysys Mason, and others reinforced the growing industry focus on digital transformation, operations excellence, and strategy execution.
The advisory consulting cohort also saw robust traction, led by EY-Parthenon with 15 offers and Deloitte USI with 12 offers, highlighting continued demand for advisory roles across sectors.
The investment banking and markets cohort featured global financial powerhouses including Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and UBS, while Goldman Sachs emerged as the largest recruiter in this cohort with six offers.
Reflecting the increasing depth of India’s alternative investment ecosystem, the private equity, venture capital and asset management cohort recorded higher participation, with firms such as Temasek, Z47, Blackstone, Elevation Capital, General Atlantic, and ARGA Investment Management engaging actively with the batch.
In the cards and financial advisory cohort, American Express emerged as the largest recruiter with 15 offers, reaffirming its strong campus presence at IIMA.
With Clusters 2 and 3 scheduled for February 6 and February 9, 2026, respectively, the initial outcomes of Cluster 1 underscore strong recruiter confidence, sectoral diversity, and sustained demand for IIM Ahmedabad talent in a competitive global hiring environment.
