Arthur D. Little

At Arthur D. Little (ADL) we dare to be different. As the world’s first management consulting company, blazing trails is in our DNA. Since our establishment in 1886 by MIT chemist, Arthur Dehon Little, we have been at the forefront of global firsts. We were the company behind General Motors’ first research lab, we supported NASA in the first moon landing, and we were instrumental in the creation of the first and only intergovernmental organization for petroleum exporting countries, OPEC.

Today, this pioneering spirit endures, with more than 1,500 ADL professionals across 40 locations working to solve the greatest challenges of our time and make a powerful new difference for our clients. At ADL we are not salespeople, we are problem solvers. We are practitioners with the kind of hands-on experience that transforms industries and drives business growth. 

The Middle East dimension 

ADL’s reputation for world firsts precedes it, but when it comes to the Middle East, we are one of the industry’s best kept secrets. We were the first management consulting firm to operate in the region, opening offices in Jeddah and Riyadh all the way back in the 1950s. Today, the firm’s regional footprint is stronger than ever as we continue to support governments and private enterprises in transformational projects that shape the long term future of businesses and nations. We have offices in Dubai, Riyadh, Manama, Doha and Beirut.

Our expertise

The world is entering a new era of innovation and creativity, and success within it hinges on the capacity to simultaneously anticipate, innovate, and transform. At ADL, we achieve this by understanding changes and future trends, building innovation capabilities, developing creative solutions and business models, and continuously shaping companies and ecosystems. In doing so, we seamlessly link strategy, innovation, and transformation.

Our success is also tied to a value system that our people live and work by. We put our clients first and our only vested interest is in helping them reach their goals. We focus on quality and delivering results that are practical, impactful, and that can be implemented in a timely manner. We value teamwork, ethics, and integrity and are proud to play a lead role in the innovation and thought leadership space across all the industries we serve.

Future first 

At ADL, we look to the horizon. Long before COVID-19 accelerated global digitalization efforts, we were already working with clients to boost their digital capabilities and develop strategies fit for a world shaped by advanced technology - strategies that effectively link performance to convergence and digital enablers. Similarly, while COP26 has renewed pressure on decision makers to address the burning issue of sustainability, at ADL, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria have long been at the center of our thinking and the way we work. As we look to the future, we see digitalization and ESG as two fundamental issues that are here to stay.

Success through collaboration

At ADL, we are outliers in the management consulting world – and our clients appreciate us for that very reason. We shun the transactional approach and instead work hand-in-hand with clients as part of a collaborative process. The valuable work that we do is shaped around the concept of ‘open consulting’, an approach that draws on external domain expertise to deliver the best possible results. The way we see it, strategy consulting is a premium service and clients are entitled to the best domain expert advice in the world, not just the best a firm can provide. For ADL, consulting is not a prescriptive profession, it is a journey of collaborative discovery, and for the Middle East, the adventure is just beginning.