21st Century
21st Century is a Johannesburg-based, privately held consulting firm founded in 1996 that provides remuneration, HR, organisation development, and change management advisory services to South African organisations, operating with 51–100 employees under CEO Chris Blair.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What 21st Century does
21st Century is a South Africa-based, private professional services firm specialising in remuneration, HR, organisation development, and change management consulting. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Johannesburg, the firm operates with a headcount in the 51–100 employee band, positioning it as a mid-sized boutique consultancy serving the domestic market. Its service lines target organisations needing support on compensation structuring, workforce design, organisational transformation, and change adoption — typical mandates for South African corporates navigating labour- and talent-related complexity.
No proprietary technology platform, software products, AI/ML capabilities, or technology integrations are disclosed in the available sources. The firm's commercial model follows the standard consultancy archetype — fee-for-service advisory engagements — but no pricing models, contract structures, or revenue mechanics were evidenced. No customer logos, named case studies, or segment-level client data were provided, and there are no recorded awards, patents, certifications, or partnerships in the input.
The leadership section of the company website identifies Chris Blair as Chief Executive Officer. Note that one external source referenced a separate CEO (Ntombizone Feni) and Nigerian telecom-market context; these signals are inconsistent with the firm's own website and firmographic identity (Johannesburg-based HR consultancy) and appear to pertain to an unrelated entity sharing the "21st Century" name. First-party material has been treated as authoritative per source-precedence rules. Overall, the available data supports a factual description of a long-standing, mid-sized South African HR and remuneration consultancy, while product, technology, customer, and financial detail remain materially undisclosed.
21st Century firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 21st Century
- Website
- https://21century.co.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- 21st Century is a Johannesburg-based, privately held consulting firm founded in 1996 that provides remuneration, HR, organisation development, and change management advisory services to South African organisations, operating with 51–100 employees under CEO Chris Blair.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
21st Century industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Management Consulting
- NAICS
- Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Organization Design & Change Management Consulting (BPAHACAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Human Capital & Workforce Transformation Consulting (BPAHACAE), Leadership Development & Executive Coaching (BPAHAGAD), Change Management & Transformation (Org/HR) (BPACAJAD), Change Management & Transformation Consulting (BPAHAGAC)
Keywords
Where 21st Century is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Johannesburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Markets served
21st Century business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel
21st Century product offering
Product offeringCore offering
21st Century specializes in remuneration, HR, organization development, and change management consulting. The firm advises client organizations on compensation structures, people strategy, organizational design, and the management of change initiatives.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Remuneration Consulting Advisory services focused on designing and reviewing compensation and reward structures for client organizations.
- HR Consulting Advisory services supporting human resources strategy and people-management practices for client organizations.
- Organization Development Consulting Advisory services supporting organizational design, effectiveness, and structural transformation initiatives.
- Change Management Consulting Advisory services supporting the planning and execution of organizational change initiatives for client organizations.
Companies that use 21st Century
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
21st Century technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
21st Century partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights1 record
21st Century competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Robert Half: Global staffing and HR consulting firm with operations in South Africa; partial overlap in HR advisory, talent, and workforce consulting.
Direct peers
- Mercer: Global HR and remuneration consulting leader with strong Africa presence; directly comparable on remuneration, rewards, and HR transformation mandates that 21st Century services.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Executive search and leadership advisory firm with Africa coverage; overlaps with 21st Century on leadership development and organization consulting.
- Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting and talent firm covering org design, leadership development, and rewards — directly overlaps with 21st Century's practice areas.
- Willis Towers Watson: Major HR, rewards, and change management consultancy with African operations; competes for the same enterprise HR transformation engagements.
Broad incumbents
- PwC South Africa: Big Four with People & Organization practice covering change management and HR transformation; a broader incumbent that overlaps with 21st Century's service lines.
- McKinsey & Company (South Africa): Global consultancy with an Organization Practice covering org design, change, and HR; competes for the largest enterprise transformation mandates in South Africa.
- Bain & Company: Global strategy and organizational consulting firm with African offices; competes for transformation and operating-model redesign mandates.
- Deloitte South Africa: Big Four with extensive HR Transformation, Change, and Organization Design practices in Johannesburg; competes for large transformation mandates as part of a broader advisory portfolio.
- Accenture South Africa: Global consultancy with a large HR/change practice and growing South African footprint; competes for end-to-end transformation work as part of broader digital and operations engagements.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
21st Century social profiles
Digital presence21st Century financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
21st Century leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
21st Century funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
21st Century M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 21st Century
What does 21st Century do?
21st Century specializes in remuneration, HR, organization development, and change management consulting. The firm advises client organizations on compensation structures, people strategy, organizational design, and the management of change initiatives.
Is 21st Century a public or private company?
21st Century is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was 21st Century founded?
21st Century was founded in 1996. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is 21st Century based?
21st Century is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
Who are 21st Century's main competitors?
Robert Half is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Mercer, Heidrick & Struggles, Korn Ferry and Willis Towers Watson. Broad incumbents are PwC South Africa, McKinsey & Company (South Africa), Bain & Company, Deloitte South Africa and Accenture South Africa.
Does 21st Century have an API?
No public API is recorded for 21st Century.
What industry is 21st Century in?
21st Century's product category is Management Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHACAD, Organization Design & Change Management Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAHACAE, Human Capital & Workforce Transformation Consulting. Its NAICS code is 541612 and its SIC code is 8742.