The traditional professional services model of relying on star ‘rainmaker’ partners has been in the spotlight following the surprising downfall of 95-year-old law firm Weil. But Kroll’s risk advisory president, Brent Tomlinson, firmly believes in building a fluid business on a collaborative culture – and not personalities.

“We’re not the Big Four, so we don’t have geographical borders, and we don’t have thousands of juniors running around. We are a senior top-heavy platform that is intentionally incentivised to be multi-jurisdictional,” Tomlinson told City AM.

To offer clients a smoother, faster experience, the risk chief said the New York-headquartered firm’s culture focuses on cross-border collaboration.

When pitching against competitors, the management consultancy firm highlights its lack of internal silos. “I can point to our competitors when we pitch and say they won’t do that [work across verticals]. We incentivise that way, we’re culturally structured that way, and we are organised that way,” he said.

But you can’t simply tell people to collaborate, especially in a sector where ‘rainmakers’ are held in high regard. A firm’s commitment to its culture is really tested when money gets involved.

“The message from the top is clear every day… I [couldn’t] care less if [the revenue] sits in my P&L. [The co-president] couldn’t care less. It does not matter. We are shareholders and leaders first… It does not matter where the revenue goes or who got it, as long as Kroll won,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, people are happiest collaborating when it leads to winning pitches. “Winning cures everything… people like winning with people they like and who they trust”.

Firm’s blueprint for growth

Although headquartered in the US, London is Kroll’s largest office, and around half of its undisclosed revenue comes from outside the US. With growth high on the agenda, Tomlinson, who has been with the firm for over six years, relocated from New York to London two years ago as the office’s first senior executive.

Tomlinson noted that having dots on a map isn’t enough. Kroll is in 30 countries, across more than 70 offices, but the firm is looking to pivot away from smaller, sub-scale outposts to double down on building out “full suite” capabilities in major financial hubs. “We need more scale in key financial hubs and geographies,” he added.

On recruitment, the firm avoids lone wolves with big personalities. “The real question everyone has to deal with is: are you willing to lose revenue to keep the culture you want? And the best firms say ‘yes’ if they believe in their culture and the strategy they’re building.”

“I’d rather have five really good partners who are focused on building the right culture and client delivery model than one all-star who’s a jackass,” he added.