BrazilHubertus Meinecke new regional boss of BCG Western Europe
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has named Hubertus Meinecke, a 20+ year veteran at the firm, to head of its Western Europe, South America and Africa units. With the promotion, Meinecke now leads one of BCG’s largest geographic divisions.
Meinecke succeeds Pascal Cotte, a BCG Senior Partner based in Paris who held the role for around six years. Prior to taking the role, Cotte led BCG’s offices in Paris, Casablanca and Tel Aviv, among others. Under his leadership, The units, combined abbreviated as WESA within the firm, booked strong growth on the back of expansion into new markets (new offices were for example opened in Bogotá [2013], Lagos [2016], Lima [2016]), the addition of new clients, and the extension of its services portfolio into incubation and venturing (BCG Digital Ventures), data science (BCG Gamma) and technology delivery (BCG Platinion).
The appointment of Meinecke builds on the five successful years he has had as the Global Leader of BCG’s Industrial Goods practice. During his tenure, the practice – which works for engineering, construction, aerospace, defence and machinery manufacturing companies – averaged 20% growth. Services the practice offers which are in high demand include digitisation, automation, innovation, lean operating models, Industry 4.0 and structured M&A.
“Hubertus has been a real pioneer in bringing our digital capabilities to clients—particularly championing Digital Ventures from early on. With him, we have an exceptional leader and client service partner stepping in as WESA Regional Chair,” said BCG’s CEO Rich Lesser. The New York and Beijing based top executive has been leading the consultancy since early 2013.
The Hamburg-based partner has been with the US-origin consulting firm since 1996. Meinecke previously also worked for the firm’s Boston, London, Johannesburg and Hamburg offices, but will, as part of his promotion effective the 1st of October, have offices in London and Paris. In his new role as the Regional Chair of the WESA region, Meinecke, who holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and PhD in Business Administration, will lead a footprint of over 18 offices; nearly ten in Europe, four in Africa, and six in South America.
“I’m delighted to have been appointed as WESA Chair. In Europe, I’m looking forward to helping our clients unleash their potential to win in the digital age. In South America, and Africa in particular, BCG wants to shape the future by helping companies harness high growth opportunities,” commented Meinecke.
Among the countries he will oversee are two of BCG’s largest outside of the US. The firm's UK office has over 800 consultants and staff on its payroll, while in France, Europe’s third largest management consulting market, BCG is based in a large office in Paris’s 7th arrondisement – with the locale housing 600 employees of both BCG and BCG Platinion.
Western European powrhouse Germany is not part of his mandate however, falling under BCG's Central and Eastern Europe plus Middle East (CEMA) division. In Germany, BCG’s seven offices combined realised double digit growth in 2017, taking its German revenue total to over €830 million. Globally, The Boston Consulting Group has approximately 16,000 employees across 90+ offices, generating $6.3 billion in revenues.
Key figures that will report to Meinecke include Stuart Quickenden, head of BCG United Kingdom; Guillaume Charlin, head of BCG France; Allard Creyghton, head of BCG in the Netherlands; and Christian Orglmeister, head of BCG Brazil. As part of his role, Meinecke is also returning to BCG’s Global Executive Committee, where he previously served for six years.
