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§ Private Profile · Barrington, IL, USA
Executive compensation, employee benefits, human resources, and actuarial consulting for corporations.
Key people at Arthur Andersen | Clark Bardes Consulting.
Arthur Andersen | Clark Bardes Consulting, based in Chicago, Illinois, provided professional advisory services focused on executive compensation, healthcare, and employee benefits for large corporate boards of directors and management teams. The entity was formed when Clark/Bardes Consulting acquired the United States human resources and benefits consulting practice of the dissolving Arthur Andersen accounting firm in April 2002 for approximately $65 million. This strategic transaction allowed the acquiring firm to absorb roughly 600 former Andersen partners and employees into its national professional services network. Operating under the leadership of chief executive officer Tom Wamberg, the combined organization subsequently rebranded as Clark Consulting and was ultimately acquired by the Dutch insurance group Aegon N.V. in 2007. Arthur Andersen was originally established in 1913 by founder Arthur Andersen, while the acquiring entity Clark/Bardes Consulting was founded in 1967.
Key people at Arthur Andersen | Clark Bardes Consulting.
# Arthur Andersen and Clark Bardes Consulting
The query appears to conflate two distinct entities. Arthur Andersen and Clark Bardes Consulting are separate organizations, though they had a notable business relationship. Arthur Andersen was a major accounting and consulting firm, while Clark Bardes (later Clark Consulting) is an independent consulting firm specializing in compensation and benefits.
Clark Bardes Consulting (later rebranded as Clark Consulting) is a compensation, benefits, and human capital consulting firm that serves large corporations and financial institutions. The firm designs, markets, and administers business-owned life insurance products and provides integrated compensation and benefits solutions to help companies retain talent[3]. As of 2013, Clark Consulting operated with 900 employees, served 3,900 clients, and generated $326 million in revenues[1].
The firm's core mission centers on helping organizations develop sophisticated compensation strategies, retirement plan design, and executive benefits solutions. Its client base primarily includes large corporations and bank-owned entities seeking to optimize their human capital strategies.
Clark Bardes was founded in 1967 by Robert Clark and David Bardes in Dallas, Texas[1][3]. The firm evolved through distinct phases: the original Clark & Bardes phase, followed by expansion into broader consulting services under the Clark Bardes Consulting banner, and eventually rebranding as Clark Consulting[1].
A pivotal moment came in 2002 when Clark Bardes hired approximately 150 veterans from Arthur Andersen[4]. This acquisition of Andersen talent enabled Clark Bardes to launch a new "human capital practice" focused on compensation consulting[4]. This influx of experienced consultants significantly expanded the firm's capabilities and market reach during a period when Arthur Andersen was collapsing following the Enron scandal.
Clark Bardes positioned itself as a specialized alternative to generalist consulting firms, focusing on the high-value niche of executive compensation and benefits. The 2002 acquisition of Arthur Andersen talent represented a strategic consolidation moment in the consulting industry, allowing Clark Bardes to absorb experienced professionals displaced by Andersen's collapse and expand its human capital practice offerings. This move reflected broader market demand for specialized compensation consulting as companies increasingly recognized talent retention as a competitive advantage.
Clark Bardes exemplifies the specialist consulting model—by maintaining deep expertise in compensation and benefits rather than pursuing broad service lines, the firm built a sustainable business serving a defined market segment. The firm's ability to integrate Arthur Andersen talent in 2002 demonstrated opportunistic growth during industry disruption. Looking forward, the firm's trajectory depends on continued demand for sophisticated compensation strategies among large enterprises and financial institutions, particularly as executive retention and benefits optimization remain persistent organizational priorities.
