GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc.)
AbbreviationGLG
Formation1998; 26 years ago (1998)
FounderMark Gerson, Thomas Lehrman
TypePrivate company
HeadquartersNew York City
Location
  • United States
Services
CEO
Gemma Postlethwaite
Revenue (2021)
$650,000,000[1]
Staff (2021)
3,000+ (1,200,000 freelance experts)
Websiteglginsights.com

GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc.) is a financial and global information services company headquartered in New York City. The company provides financial information and advises investors and consultants with business clients seeking expert advice.[2] It is the world's largest expert network, with over 1,000,000 freelance consultants.[3] GLG's experts include asset managers, investors, consultants, physicians, scientists, engineers, lawyers, senior current and former c-level executives, and former government members.[4][5] GLG's clients include strategy consulting corporations, hedge funds, private equity firms, professional service firms, and non-profit organizations.[6][7][8][9]

The firm was founded in 1998 and has been backed by private equity firms Silver Lake Partners,[10] Bessemer Venture Partners,[11] and SFW Capital Partners.[12][9] GLG is headquartered in New York City, with offices in 22 cities in 12 countries. [9]

History

Gerson Lehrman Group was founded by Yale Law School graduates Mark Gerson and Thomas Lehrman in 1998. Alexander Saint-Amand, a former Bloomberg reporter, joined GLG shortly after, and served as CEO until 2018.[13][14]

GLG, initially funded by friends and family, was formed as a publishing house to produce industry guidebooks for institutional investors. However, the founders discovered that their clients wanted to talk directly to experts in casual conversations, rather than reading formal written reports. Accordingly, in 1999, GLG abandoned its publishing business and began offering subscriptions to its network of experts.[15]

GLG's first customers were investors, and most of their growth from 1999 to 2005 was within the investment community. In 2006, they began working with big strategy consultancies and with companies in life sciences, chemicals and industrials, and technology. By 2010, The Wall Street Journal had described GLG as "dominating the U.S. expert networking industry".[16]

The expert network business model has drawn scrutiny for concerns relating to adherence to disclosure rules and insider trading within the investment industry.[17] GLG's policies include prohibitions against consultants sharing any nonpublic information about their employer or any public company, violating any ethical or legal restrictions relevant to consultants, or violating any laws.[2]

In 2018, GLG named Paul Todd as its new CEO. Todd was previously the head of eBay's EMEA business.[3][18]

GLG operates a Social Impact Fellowship that provides learning resources and expertise to certain nonprofits at no cost.[19]

In October 2021 GLG filed to go public in an IPO, but it withdrew that offering in March 2022.[20][21]

References

  1. ^ "GLG expert network". inex.one. 5 August 2019. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Review: Gigs with consulting firm GLG are sporadic but pay well". Los Angeles Times. July 25, 2020. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Gerson Lehrman Recruits New Technology CEO from eBay". Integrity Research Associates. March 27, 2018. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  4. ^ John Bruton"John Bruton - Professional Activities Archived 2013-01-22 at the Wayback Machine"Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  5. ^ German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce "‘Austerity must be softened’ - former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine", Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  6. ^ "Gerson Lehrman Seeks New Image as Investor Cashes Out". The New York Times. July 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  7. ^ "Investors Are Paying $1,300 Per Hour for 'Expert' Chats". Bloomberg.com. 2018-02-28. Archived from the original on 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  8. ^ "GLG's Richard Socarides Believes In The Power Of Learning". CMO. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c Cooper, Laura (21 December 2015). "Gerson Lehrman Gets New Private-Equity Backer". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  10. ^ "Portfolio Companies - Prior Investments". Silver Lake Partners. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  11. ^ "Portfolio - Gerson Lehrman Group". Bessemer Venture Partners. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  12. ^ "SFW Capital Partners Invests Over $200 Million in GLG". SFW Capital Partners. December 21, 2015. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  13. ^ "Transforming Professional Learning". Leaders Mag. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  14. ^ "Terms of Service Violation". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  15. ^ "Investing; It's Not What They Know, but Whom". The New York Times. December 23, 2001. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  16. ^ Mavin, Duncan (23 March 2010). "Talent holds key to growth in Asia for Gerson Lehrman boss". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  17. ^ "Dutton Associates Online Interview" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  18. ^ "Two Minutes with our European Chief Paul Todd". www.ebayinc.com. 2015-08-03. Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  19. ^ "This Woman's Novel Approach to Poverty Relief is a Game-Changer". Nation Swell. January 30, 2017. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  20. ^ "Expert Network Firm Gerson Lehrman Files for IPO - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  21. ^ "Consulting network Gerson Lehrman Group withdraws $100 million IPO". 2022-03-25.

Further reading

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