Warrington establishes new MBA career-preparation pipeline for evolving consulting industry

University of Florida Warrington College of Business MBA students interested in pursuing a career in consulting will have the opportunity to hone their skills in the industry through new courses and hands-on learning opportunities in the 2026-2027 academic year. 

Warrington has appointed Sean O’Donnell to lead the college’s efforts in preparing MBA students for the consulting industry. Students who participate in the forthcoming series of courses, which are also open to specialized master’s students, will learn consulting strategy including how to engage and communicate with clients, understand and articulate challenges and opportunities, recommend modern and rationale-driven solutions, and execute plans. 

“Consulting isn’t just a career path, it’s a capability,” said Adam Herman, Assistant Dean of MBA Programs. “Organizations need people who can find and solve complex problems, communicate clearly and use AI as a force multiplier. Our goal is to make students the most client-ready, analytically equipped, professionally polished consultant that firms can count on from day one.”

How the consulting industry is evolving

Being prepared right out of the gate is a strong qualification that employers will be searching for as employment growth is forecasted to grow by more than 240,000 consulting jobs through 2031. Across the nation, Florida has the fourth-highest number of management consultant roles with about 179,000 people filling these positions. The state’s industry is expected to grow an annualized 3.9% to $28.5 billion over the five years.

While consulting jobs are growing, AI is also expected to impact these roles. With AI agents evolving positions, students will need to focus on key human-oriented skills, like leadership and communications, critical thinking, decision making and creative thinking, in combination with AI literacy to compete for higher level roles. 

How Warrington will prepare students for consulting roles

In order to help Warrington graduate students be successful in obtaining these jobs, the course series will offer a robust curriculum that embeds AI literacy throughout each class and takes students beyond case learning to live client projects thanks to employer partnerships. 

“Learning starts with a baseline understanding of consulting fundamentals and students’ expertise develops in content coursework,” O’Donnell said. “Couple that with hands-on experiences provided by companies and our students will be prepared for immediate impact in consulting roles.”

O’Donnell joins academia after more than 26 years of consulting, management and leadership experience in telecommunications. He earned his Doctor of Business Administration from Warrington in 2026 and will pair that with his experiences in business process improvement, technology deployment, and large-scale team leadership to provide experiential learning that helps students be ready for consulting roles and make consulting-level impacts in any field.

“I was fortunate to start my career in management consulting at EY,” O’Donnell said. “I would argue that consulting may be one of the best places to start a career in business, as the skills learned are amongst the most sought after by any employer, and are used throughout a professional’s career. I’m excited to help our students develop these skills and begin an amazing career in consulting.”

Learn more about how Warrington’s MBA program is supporting students in consulting and adjacent fields like strategic problem solving.