Overview
Introduction
Putnam Associates is a global boutique that attracts individuals looking to make a difference in the healthcare and biopharmaceutical industries. Beyond the firm’s commitment and expertise to revolutionizing life sciences consulting is a determination to “bring out the best in each other.” Putnam’s commitment to development makes it a great choice for anybody looking to acquire practical knowledge of the industry by training alongside an enthusiastic team of likeminded professionals while delivering exceptional value to clients.
Company Stats
Employer Type
Size
Featured Rankings
Vault Consulting 50...
Major Departments/Practice Areas
Value, Pricing, & Access Strategy...
Major Office Locations
Boston, MA (HQ)...
Employment Contact
Firsthand Findings
A consistently high-ranking consultancy for firm culture, we always pay special attention to Putnam Associates’ employee feedback on life at the firm, and this year’s responses did not disappoint. With near-unanimous praise of the conscious effort put into cultivating a diverse and close-knit culture—especially amidst the pandemic—Putnamites generally exhibit a strong sense of pride in their firm.
Of particular note is the amount of focus Putnam places in developing consultants at an early stage of their careers, giving them increased responsibility that, in turn, translates to a high-caliber of work and increased value to clients. Putnam provides many opportunities for early responsibility, which can be challenging, but colleagues and leadership alike seem to be...
About the Company
For more than 30 years Putnam Associates has grown into a premier strategy consulting firm serving biopharmaceutical, biotechnology (cell, gene and tissue therapies), diagnostics, medical device, and related clients in the healthcare space. The firm provides objective, high impact strategic advice and analytical services, helping to support clients in crucial business decisions at all stages of the product and franchise lifecycle. Putnam's clients range from venture-backed biotechs to Fortune 500 companies, including the majority of the world's major biopharmaceutical companies–indeed, despite being based in the US, more than half of Putnam's projects are global in focus. Putnam's commitment to client success has sustained many relationships that stretch back more than a decade and has enabled continued expansion into new client oppo...
2021 Vault Rankings
Employee Reviews
- “Awesome, intelligent people providing critical strategic insights to clients in the healthcare space.”
- “Conscious effort to cultivate diverse, hardworking, thoughtful/mindful teams. Work/life balance is not the "elephant in the room". Very open conversation. Promotional cycles are clear and expectations to get to each level is clear. Recently opened new offices in London/New York, recently hired an industry veteran Chief People Officer.”
- “I think the firm culture at Putnam is unlike any other consulting firm. It is a group of collaborative, driven, and bright individuals who do the best work possible for clients while supporting and helping colleagues to thrive.”
- “Look beyond the top 3 big firms—some of the smaller ones are just as exciting and produce equally high caliber work with arguably better work/life balance and culture. Additionally, boutique consulting in an area that peaks your interest ensures you will never be bored by a project!”
- “You'll be hard pressed to find better leadership at any other firm. Without exception, the partners are kind, humble, approachable people. They genuinely care about the people at the firm and they're moving us in the right direction all across the board (work-life balance, promotion, innovation, expansion, etc.). Putnam is certainly a firm that's on the upswing!”
- “The company culture from top to bottom. The CEO is open and receptive to everyone in the firm, and everyone has a voice and an opinion that is heard and acted upon.”
- “Putnam really puts in a lot of effort to ensure a high quality of life. As an associate, I have not had to travel and we are allowed to go to the gym in the middle of the day if our casework allows. Additionally, between happy hours and sports teams the office hosts a lot of non-work events that help to make everyone in the office closer.”
- “Work/life balance is very good for the industry. We receive a fair amount of vacation time and have almost total flexibility over how and when we use it. Additionally, we receive "personal days", which function as additional vacation days, as compensation for having to endure tougher work hours over a given time period. Consulting ebbs and flows in terms of workload, that's just part of the deal, and it's truly exceptional, fair, and smart to have a policy in place to reward someone who has had to put in a lot of hours. Lastly, we have strong flexibility to work from home (this policy was in place before COVID mandated work from home), which is a really nice option to exercise every now and then.”
- “The hours can certainly get long and there has traditionally been a culture of being "always on" but the partners have been trying to reshape those norms and lay out guidelines for expectations of working vs. non-working hours.”
- “During COVID-19, we've put in place a Healthy Putnam Challenge, that encourages employees to put on exercise classes, and so far I've been in fantastic meditation session, yoga sessions, HIIT workouts, and ab workouts. It's keeping us connected and healthy.”
- “Putnam gives us a stipend for our monthly gym membership and allows us to go to the gym during work hours as long as casework permits. Putnam also focuses a lot of mental health initiatives, we have had constant meditation sessions throughout quarantine and have a forum coming up on mental health at Putnam.”
- “The firm is very accommodating with respect to vacation time. As long as you provide a little bit of notice you can basically use your vacation whenever and however you want. Additionally, we receive "personal days", which function as additional vacation days, as compensation for having to endure tougher work hours over a given time period. Consulting ebbs and flows in terms of workload, that's just part of the deal, and it's truly exceptional, fair, and smart to have a policy in place to reward someone who has had to put in a lot of hours.”
- “Compensation can increase rather dramatically as you move up through the firm. Compensation seems very fair at Putnam, and I appreciate that a sizable portion of our annual compensation is tied to performance.”
- “Compensation is great. Base salaries were raised across the board this year, and each position offers a strong bonus that is fully obtainable through god performance. On top of that, we have profit share. I feel like each year I make substantially more than the year prior, which corresponds well with the rapid increase in skills and experience I've developed through this job.”
- “I feel like the entry-level salary is a bit low compared to peers at similar firms, but overall I am happy with it. I would love for compensation to be more openly talked about though. The increase in base salary was nice this year.”
- “There is a steep salary progression especially after the first couple of years, but the compensation for entry-level employees could be further increased to attract talent and compete against other consulting firms. Comp was revised this past year but the meager increase in salary for employees with 1-3 years of experience feels like it was not enough to make a dent in our ability to compete in cross-offer situations.”
- “Competitive salary with large bonus opportunities. 3% match, as opposed to a 6% match ceiling for 401(k).”
- “The year end-bonuses are really nice. There was also a recent re-vamp of the family leave policy for primary and secondary care-givers that have increased leave for both.”
- “Great opportunities for mentorship at every level. Open and supportive environment that fosters growth and development.”
- “A transparent promotion system, excellent exit opportunities and ability to develop your own skillset.”
- “Increasing transparency in promotion criteria. Lots of work has been done to improve training. New support staff, including Chief People Officer, clearly highlight the importance of people to the firm.”
- “Plenty of opportunity for promotion early on in your career and to take on real responsibility with your projects given the firm's smaller size and continued expansion.”
- “Promotion timelines can be very rapid for high performers. Strong merit based system. Additional responsibilities and development opportunities provided early.”
- “Very hands-on mentorship program, which helps you get settled and provides ongoing support through different phases of your career.”
- “Putnam has done a really nice job of promoting diversity via our quarterly Putnam diversity forum. The discussion have been led by people of various backgrounds and has always been well received. I actually felt like I benefited from these rather than some diversity/sensitivity training I've heard of elsewhere.”
- “Putnam is the most diverse workplace I have worked in and this is celebrated with frequent forums and social events. I have many female and male role models that take an interest in me and my career goals”
- “There is a strong representation of LGBTQ, women, and minorities throughout the firms, with a strong presence in the middle management ranks.”
- “I feel Putnam is a very moral firm with solid diversity efforts, including quarterly diversity forums where we discuss how to promote diversity or overcome things like unconscious bias. Obviously, the firm compensates purely based on merit; no other factors are considered.”
- “I think the firm is absolutely slaying with regards to diversity - most of my teams are majority female and many of them have LGBQT individuals on the team. We also have people from a very diverse set of cultural backgrounds.”
- “Putnam is actually slight female majority and extremely diverse in every sense of the word. Much of middle management is female and minority.”
- “Given COVID, I think being in the healthcare industry puts us in a much better position for our future than other consulting firms- healthcare is never going anywhere!”
- “I have no doubt that this firm is going to be the gold standard in life science strategy soon. I have had many clients tell me that they can always tell a Putnam Associates deck from other consulting firms', because most firms are only scratching the surface, while we're digging deep to find nuances and different strategic thinking that directors and VPs in pharma/biotech really appreciate.”
- “I think healthcare is rapidly evolving and we are well-suited to meet the needs of the industry. Also, healthcare and life sciences are always relatively important, even in times of economic uncertainty, so I am happy with our company’s outlook.”
- “Independent of COVID, morale at the company seems higher than it was last year as Putnam has taken steps across the board to show that they are serious about continuing to improve the culture and support employees. There are also several strong former employees who are returning to Putnam after business school, which gives me further confidence in the firm's business outlook.”
- “The future is looking very bright. Our work has been virtually unchanged through the Covid-19 epidemic, which I believe speaks volumes to the importance of our work and the value we provide to our clients.”
- “Some speed bumps given the coronavirus outbreak (like any other firm) but strong outlook going forward as the firm continues to expand into new offices (NYC, London, SF).”
Getting Hired Here
- “The ideal candidate is detail oriented, passionate about the life sciences, and willing to be a team-player.”
- “We heavily prioritize target schools. We are looking for elite talent from any academic discipline with a mandatory interest in healthcare. You need to prove you can immediately contribute to a case team and be a positive culture add.”
- “Putnam is 100% on top of interviews. They are constantly seeking intelligent and driven individuals who will fit well into our culture.”
- “Very competitive process; [we’re] looking for a high caliber student who is also socially confident and outgoing.”
- “First-round phone call screener or on campus interview. Final round consists of 3-4 back-to-back interviews at the office, each with a case portion and a fit portion, run by employees at each level of the company.”
- “Very fair [process]; pressure put on the fit component and cultural fit.”
- “Please provide an example of a past project at your last company. When was a time you were working with a client or vendor, and you had opposing positions on something, how did you handle it? What was the outcome?”
- “A client is trying to estimate peak revenues for a new eye injection therapy (w/ multiple key segments). Please estimate the market size, the appropriate price, and peak revenues.”
- “Please size the oral contraceptive market in the US. Should company X launch this drug? What would be revenue after year 1? Year 2?”
- “Market sizing questions with more of a biotech/pharma context.”
- “A client is trying to estimate peak revenues for a new eye injection therapy (w/ multiple key segments). Please estimate the market size, the appropriate price, and peak revenues.”
- “Drug market sizing; appropriate drug pricing for a new entrant.”
Perks & Benefits
