A new ownership model for the $100bn consulting industry
Principal-owned, judgement-led, and amplified by AI…not replaced by it.
Senior judgement no longer needs a pyramid beneath it.
Senior operators leaving a corporate role have real choices, and they’re experienced enough to know exactly what each one costs them. What’s changed isn’t the choice. It’s the economics behind it.
Traditional professional services firms are built on a simple trade: senior judgement, delivered through the leverage of a large team underneath it. Clients pay for a partner’s experience, but most of the people doing the work, and most of the economics it generates, sit in the layers of associates and analysts built to support that one partner.
Two things have changed that. AI now does a meaningful share of what that junior layer used to do, research, first drafts, analysis, production, well enough that a senior operator doesn’t need to rebuild a pyramid beneath them to deliver at the standard clients expect. And firm-level infrastructure, positioning, pipeline, delivery systems, billing, technology, no longer has to mean building or owning a firm to get it. It can be provided.
That’s the shift TPG is built on: senior judgement, amplified by AI, backed by the infrastructure of a firm, with the economics and the ownership sitting with the Principal, not a partnership structure built to extract them.
TPG exists to give operators a path that’s financially and professionally rewarding, built entirely on their own terms.
Your expertise and reputation are always yours. Day to day, though, you operate under the TPG brand, because that’s what gives you the credibility and infrastructure of a global practice from day one. You’re part of a global practice, with the weight of a firm behind you and none of the isolation of building alone.
The people who built it.
Four co-founders who have built, run and sold professional networks, and the team that keeps the practice running day to day. Between them, decades of building international businesses — and the reason TPG works the way it does.
“The safest thing to do in your second curve is to become an entrepreneur.”
Dr Arnd Halbach has a PhD in entrepreneurship. He joined the ERA Group in 2007, midway through its journey, and worked alongside its founder to grow it into a network of 1,000+ franchisees across 50 countries before its successful sale. He is the author of Your Second Curve.
“You don’t ask what engine’s under the hood of a BMW. You just need it to get you where you’re going.”
Daniel Heer is a serial SaaS founder. One of his most notable prior ventures raised $100M+ over 12 years. He designed TPG’s technology so Principals get a stable, ready-to-run practice, instead of assembling their own infrastructure from scratch.
“You’ve spent a career working for other people. This time, it’s on your terms.”
James Sanderson has 30 years of experience in network-building. Career highlights include building BNI’s referral network from scratch to roughly 50,000 members. He also led ERA’s international expansion.
“We are solid, grounded people bringing something unusual to market with modern technology, the ocean tanker with a speedboat mentality.”
Klaus Jeschke spent 20 years working alongside Arnd at the ERA Group and is the voice of operations and brand credibility at TPG.
Lucy is a B2B marketing specialist with more than 20 years’ experience across agencies and in-house CMO roles, including at Starling Bank, Yolt and Skype.
Ronny leads TPG’s web design and development, bringing specialist UI and front-end expertise to the network’s digital presence.
Jordan oversees candidate selection and recruitment for TPG, drawing on extensive experience in executive search to evaluate prospective Principals. Every candidate profile is personally reviewed by Jordan.
James supports The Principals Group’s growth through operational coordination and delivery, helping ensure a smooth experience for principals and clients.
