In the consulting industry’s era of AI upheaval, even job titles aren’t safe.
The Big Four firm Deloitte is rolling out a sweeping overhaul of how it refers to its US workforce and introducing a new class of leader.
“All professionals will receive a new title that we will start to use internally and externally on June 1, 2026,” said a presentation shared with employees during a meeting on Wednesday morning, which Business Insider has seen.
Deloitte plans to tell employees their new job titles on January 29, before they take effect at the start of the firm’s next financial year in June.
The meeting, hosted by Mo Reynolds, Deloitte US’s chief people officer, was held for the consulting division, but the changes apply to all Deloitte’s US divisions, the presentation said. Deloitte had 181,500 employees in the US as of May 31, 2025.
The firm also announced a new leadership role during Wednesday’s meeting.
Currently, the most senior titles at the firm are partners, principals, and managing directors — known as PPMD. Starting in June, a role titled “leaders” will join the group, according to the presentation.
“We are modernizing our talent architecture to provide a more tailored experience reflective of our professionals’ broad range of skills and the work they do,” a Deloitte spokesperson told Business Insider.
The overhaul of titles comes as Deloitte and its peers face existential questions posed by AI in the consulting industry. The technology is changing what it means to be a consultant, affecting long-held talent structures, pricing models, and the work that clients want from their consultants.
Why change job titles?
In the internal presentation, Deloitte frames the changes as a necessary modernization for a changing market.
After a slide titled “why now?” the firm explains that its current talent architecture is “outdated” and unable to “support our business of tomorrow.”
The current structure was designed for “a more homogenous workforce of ‘traditional’ consulting profiles,” according to the presentation. “But so much has changed.”
Deloitte’s workforce and business have grown, employees are seeking more tailored talent experiences, and “our clients are demanding new skills and capabilities,” the presentation said.
By redesigning its talent architecture, Deloitte aims to better match employees’ work with their titles, clarify career levels, and give people doing similar work more consistent experiences.
Day-to-day work, leadership, and the firm’s “compensation philosophy” will all stay the same, according to the presentation.
What’s changing at Deloitte?
Consultants at Deloitte have traditionally followed a progression path of analyst, senior analyst, consultant, senior consultant, manager, and senior manager, before promotion to the top echelons of the firm.
Under the new system, these titles will become more specific and include reference to a “job family” and “sub-family,” which are another new feature introduced in the talent overhaul.
In an example from the presentation, an employee with the current job title of “senior consultant” could become “senior consultant, functional transformation,” “software engineer III,” or “project management senior consultant” on June 1.
Internally, employees will also be assigned an alphanumeric reference to indicate their job level, such as L45 for what is currently a senior consultant and L55 for current managers.
These more specific titles will “drive greater clarity and market relevancy,” according to the presentation.
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