Beyond the Bio

Using data to fuel customer needs is important now more than ever. Nikolaus Zacher, a partner in our Munich office, has substantial experience in advanced analytics with a focus in retail and consumer products. Knowing first-hand the importance of data-driven decision-making, Nikolaus is leading our clients’ business growth by the power of our digital and advanced analytics capabilities. Listen to...

A great customer experience creates loyal consumers, and loyal consumers proudly promote the businesses they love. Darci Darnell, a Partner in our Chicago office and the leader of our Global Customer Strategy and Marketing practice, has extensive knowledge on how to create outstanding customer experiences. On this episode, Keith talks to Darci about how her globetrotting career gave her the experi...

We’ve known our host, Keith Bevans, to lead insightful conversations with some remarkable guests throughout the years, but this episode is slightly different. Keith is sitting in the guest seat and answering questions from consultant and Beyond the Bio producer, Daniel Yellin, to share some insight into the why of Beyond the Bio, dive a little deeper into a few topics we’ve covered on DEI, mergers...

Robert Cercós and Juan Pablo (JP) Garcia, founders of Spike SpA - a leading provider of advanced analytics and machine learning solutions - joined the Bain family after Spike was acquired by the firm earlier this year. As part of Bain adding more client-demanding capabilities to our toolkit, Robert and JP bring a new expertise to the firm that not only provides resources for our clients but opport...

Lauren Kelley, CEO of OPEXEngine, a member-based benchmarking community for software and SaaS companies that joined Bain in 2021, found a gap in how companies measure data and chose to do something about it. Lauren joins us to share not only her journey to entrepreneurship and what’s driven her throughout her career, but how OPEXEngine is meeting the needs and answering the hard questions companie...

Neil Shah, Executive Vice President of Global Mergers & Acquisitions, studied government at Harvard. After graduating, Neil joined Bain as Associate Consultant for a few years before pursuing a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Boomeranging back to Bain after a few career opportunities in banking and policies, Neil now leads our global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that help meet capability demands t...

Arpan Sheth, Bain’s Global Capability Leader of our digital delivery platform, Vector, is all about embracing open doors. Following his father's footsteps and becoming an engineer, Arpan shifted to consulting after hearing inspiring stories from people he knew in business. Throughout his time at Bain, Arpan has combined his engineering and business expertise to help build and grow our practices in...

After many years at Bain helping start our Retail practice, Erika Serow left to become the US CEO of Sweaty Betty before returning to the firm as our Chief Marketing Officer. Erika’s leadership career stems from her desire to be an operator and run a retail business, but over time found that she truly enjoys working with smart and skillful people for a brand that she believes in. On this episode,...

Julie Coffman, our Chief Diversity Officer, leader of our Global DEI practice, and Keith Bevans’s first manager who helped mentor the leader and host we know today, joins us to talk about her extensive career at Bain and how she’s currently leading the firm’s DEI initiatives. As part of our 5-part environmental, social and governance (ESG) series, Julie shares insight into the social part of this...

Sasha Duchnowski, a partner in our Chicago office, joins us as part of our 5-part environmental, social and governance (ESG) series to dive into some of the work we’ve done as our commitment to social impact. We discuss our work with The Nature Conservancy and the Republic of the Marshall Islands on an innovative approach to delivering sustainable cans of tuna, and how this work had led to better...

Bain's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) capabilities focus on helping our clients make real impact in sustainability, equity, and inclusion for all. Having a passion for this work, François Faelli, our Global Managing Partner of ESG, joins us for a five-part series to share how we're centering these efforts across the globe. On this episode, François not only shares his journey to Bain,...

Domenico Azzarello, EMEA Regional Managing Partner based in Paris, was introduced and pre-destined to an international life in consulting thanks to his consultant parents. Born in Milan, his career has spanned the globe with stops in various cities including Chicago, San Francisco, and Paris where he now leads our fast-growing business in the European, Middle Eastern, and African regions. On this...

Whitney White, Bain alum and founder of Take Back Your Time – a coaching program that helps executives live up to their full potential - uses her entrepreneurial spirit to help executives learn how to work sustainably while having the life they desire. Having a deep passion for helping others, listen to Whitney share her journey to Bain, why she decided to jump into becoming an entrepreneur instea...

Andy Dunn, Bain Alum, founding CEO of Bonobos, and author of Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind, is on a mission to normalize discussing mental health in the workplace. On this episode, we’re joined by previous guest, Mackenzie Morrison, as we chat through how the workforce can break stigmas around mental health as well as normalize conversations around it to create supportive envir...

In the demanding consulting world, health and wellness can sometimes be overlooked when we’re diving deep into work. Knowing this first-hand, Mackenzie Morrison, Director of Global Professional Development in our Chicago office, helps Bainies learn how to have successful yet sustainable careers at the firm through inspirational leadership. On this episode, Mackenzie shares how the firm is supporti...

Andrew Schwedel, a partner in our New York office and leader of our Macro Trends Group, knows the importance of organizations reevaluating and changing how they think about work in a post-pandemic workforce. The pandemic has not only shifted perspectives on what people want out of their jobs, but also what they want out of their lives and if they’re able to work sustainably. On this episode, we ex...

Prasad Narasimhan Sulur, a partner in our Boston office, came from a family of medical professionals in India who encouraged him to pursue the same career path, however, he had other plans. On this episode, Prasad shares how his idea to study engineering led him to the U.S. and Bain, where he now leads our technology and cloud practice and our Americas Asians at Bain affinity group.

Brittany Matthews, a partner in our Chicago office, knows the importance of supportive and collaborative spaces for Black communities in the workforce, especially for our Black leaders. Launching the Black Leaders Forum (BLF) in 2020, Brittany and Black executives from various industries come together throughout the year to provide that space with their colleagues and friends. In this episode, Bri...

Alex Noether, an expert partner in our New York office, is passionate about our Blacks at Bain network, his tattoos, and addressing unconscious bias in the workplace. In this encore episode of Beyond the Bio, Alex and Keith discuss the concepts of unconscious bias and the ways Bain is building and scaling best practices to ensure our processes are equitable for everyone.

Adrienne King, executive VP of Bain’s Americas Talent Management, and Modupe Akinola, Bain alum and associate professor of management at Columbia Business School, built the framework for Bain to recruit and retain our Blacks at Bain community (BABs). On this encore episode of Beyond the Bio, they share their journey of pioneering and implementing ExperienceBain, a pre-MBA program for Black recruit...

Rebecca Burack, a partner in our Boston office, transitioned from an industrial engineering career to consulting after learning about Bain through her manager who was pursuing a career at the firm. Once joining Bain, Rebecca did everything to avoid private equity cases, but as she accelerated within her career, she learned why it's important to jump on these cases early to succeed in the consultin...

Christophe De Vusser, a partner in our Brussels office and the head of our EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) private equity practice, joined Bain after leaving his purchasing and strategic sourcing career at Proctor and Gamble (P&G). Seeking more opportunity that Bain could offer, Christophe found himself enjoying work in the private equity practice, strongly focusing on environmental, social...

Kelly Boone Swaintek, a partner in our Austin office, transitioned to a career in consulting after serving in the U.S. Army. Knowing firsthand the challenges veterans face reentering civilian life and the workforce, Kelly has made it her mission to support veteran Bainies transition from one career to the next as well as advocate recruiting them and their talents to Bain.

Anita Cohen and Andrew Kunkel, partners in our Chicago office, didn’t plan on specializing in private equity, but once they were exposed to the world of fast-paced cases and non-standard approaches to problem-solving, they fell in love with the work. Anita and Andrew share their journeys into private equity and PEG, our private equity group, and explain why Bain is the leader in this industry.

João Soares, a partner in our London office and the global head of BGLAD, Bain’s LGBTQ network, shares how he not only transformed his career, but Bain’s approach on creating inclusive communities. *This episode was recorded in June 2021 during PRIDE month.