EY snaps up design firm Fortune Cookie to boost digital transformation offerings

Consultant EY is acquiring the business of Fortune Cookie UX Design, a digital design boutique firm headquartered in Pune, a company statement said.

The acquisition will boost EY’s digital transformation service offering with the presence of design thinkers and user experience (UX) designers.

Currently, there are about 2,200 digital and technology professionals in EY India, including data scientists, automation and infotech professionals delivering digital and technology-led solutions to clients in varied functions and industries. 

With the fast-growing need from organisations to undertake large-scale digital transformation, EY plans to hire another 2,000 professionals with diverse capabilities over the next three years. 

Fortune Cookie UX Design, founded by Shashank Shwet, Vidhika Rohatgi and Sonam Agarwal in 2008, is a full-service digital design consultancy, offering design thinking, digital ecosystem road maps, UX design and usability services. It has several global and Indian clients across industries such as manufacturing, financial services, retail, pharma and healthcare and media and entertainment. 

Mahesh Makhija, emerging technology and digital leader, EY India, said, “The Fortune Cookie UX Design team brings unique and differentiated design and user experience skills. Over the past two years, we have collaborated with Fortune Cookie UX Design in the implementation of several digital transformation engagements and have benefitted immensely from this association. The integration comes at a crucial time as clients are becoming increasingly digital and looking for innovative solutions to better engage their customers and accelerate business performance." 

Shashank Shwet, founder and chief executive, Fortune Cookie UX Design, said, “Empathy and design thinking are important tools that businesses require to address digital disruption. For the last 10 years, we have designed digital ecosystems with the user at the centre of the strategy. Organisations need well-defined processes for user research, design thinking, UX Design and digital transformation.”

According to the statement, EY has globally done over 120 acquisitions in the last six years and has over 20 alliances with technology majors around the world. 

Globally, EY plans to invest $1 billion in new technology solutions, client services, innovation and the EY ecosystem over the next two years.