Business

EY-Parthenon, the strategy consulting business of EY, announced its first innovation collaboration with Plug and Play, a global start-up ecosystem and venture fund specializing in early- to growth-stage technology start-ups.

The collaboration will allow EY-Parthenon clients to engage with the start-up ecosystem and embrace disruptive digital technologies and advance their growth agenda. This is critically important in a post-COVID business environment, where companies face unprecedented disruptions to supply chains and difficulties in engaging with customers.

“With COVID-19, we’ve witnessed an acceleration of trends that were already disrupting every industry,” said Mitch Berlin, EY-Parthenon Americas Leader. “We’re also experiencing a growing trend in corporate venture capital and corporations that are increasingly looking to start-ups to advance their innovation and growth agenda. With this collaboration, EY-Parthenon will be at the forefront of where change is happening and help our clients navigate their business strategy in a digital world.”

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Silicon Valley with more than 30 locations globally, Plug and Play has a deep network of corporations and start-ups. With successful exits like Dropbox and PayPal, Plug and Play has been giving start-ups in various sectors the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. Its strong programming and platform will enable exploration of the art of the possible with EY-Parthenon clients.

“We are excited for this new collaboration opportunity and look forward to contributing to EY-Parthenon’s agenda to help its clients engage with the start-up ecosystem and accelerate their digital transformation,” said Michael Olmstead, Chief Revenue Officer at Plug and Play. “This is an important time to be involved in the innovation and technology growth industry.”

At inception, EY-Parthenon’s global collaboration with Plug and Play will focus on start-ups influencing the retail value chain through their Brand & Retail Program, which will help clients navigate the business value chain to pilot and incorporate disruptive technology. By helping them build, buy or partner with start-ups focused on solving similar challenges, EY-Parthenon, with the deep start-upstart relationships Plug and Play offers, will build a better working world.

“The consumer products and retail industry is changing exponentially. These companies must be constantly innovating to remain competitive,” said EY-Parthenon Americas Consumer Products and Retail Sector Leader Jim Doucette. “Collaborating with Plug and Play allows us to bring our clients the latest trends in emerging technology and understand how their business can be transformed by incorporating digital transformation as a key component of their strategy.”