Stépan Breedveld joins The Boston Consulting Group in Amsterdam

After leading Benelux IT services company Ordina for seven years, CEO Stépan Breedveld has returned to home soil. The former CEO of Ordina has re-joined The Boston Consulting Group in Amsterdam, where he will leverage his turnaround experience to bolster the TURN and TMT practices of the strategy consultancy.

Stépan Breedveld previsouly spent seventeen years with The Boston Consulting Group, between 1993 and 2010. In his last role prior to joining Ordina, Breedveld was a Vice President and practice leader of the firm’s Dutch telecom, media en technology (TMT) arm, focused on clients in the telecom en IT sectors. He in addition led BCG’s global telecom practice.

After spending about one year as an executive at Ordina, an IT-services company with around 2,600 employees in the Benelux, Breedveld in September ascended to the top role, succeeding Ronald Kasteel. Main task of the newly appointed Chief Executive: improve the company’s competitive positioning and bottom-line results.

In the midst of the economic crisis, Breedveld managed to navigate Ordina through a challenging period. Under his leadership the technology player sharpened its business model, improved the agility of its corporate structure (Ordina reduced the number of management layers, among others) and executed a large restructuring programme in a bid to slash the cost-base. After being re-appointed for a second four year term in September 2014, Breedveld started positioning Ordina on a path back to profitability. The turnaround has meanwhile allowed the firm to reap the rewards – today Ordina is paying dividens, is debt-free, and according to its current leadership, ready for its next growth phase. 

For Breedveld, Ordina’s rejuvenated fortunes formed the ideal moment to pass on the baton. “My task has been completed and so this is a natural moment to step down. Our people serve a large compliment and I would like to thank them for their contribution and success,” he said last year when he unveiled his decision. Formally, Breedveld stepped down as CEO in April this year.

Returning to home soil

Meanwhile, the executive consultant has disclosed his next move –– and for the second time in his career he has decided to stay on known ground. When Breedveld joined Ordina in 2010 he already was a familiar face in its boardroom – he at the time served as a strategic consultant to Ordina. Now, Breedveld is returning to The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), with over 90 offices in 50 countries one of the globe’s three largest strategy consulting firms. BCG, which is headquartered in Boston, where it was founded in 1963, is active in the Netherlands since 1993, when it entered the market through an acquisition. The firm’s Dutch office is based in Amsterdam.

Per the 1st of January 2018 Breedveld, who studied Business Economics and Physics, has been named a Senior Partner and Managing Director at the firm. Leveraging the extensive turnaround experience he gained at Ordina, he will play a key role in further developing BCG’s TURN (derived from ‘turnaround’) practice which focuses on restructuring cases and accelerated profit improvement programmes*. In addition, he will serve clients in the telecom, media and technology sector on strategic, operational and organisational issues.

Breedveld on his appointment, “I am very happy to rejoin BCG. My role as CEO was a bumpy ride at times, but also a tremendous learning experience. hope that my recent executive experience, coupled with my consulting background, will provide additional value to our clients on the complex issues they face.”

The Managing Partner of BCG in Amsterdam, Allard Creyghton, said that he looks forward to welcoming Breedveld. “Our TURN practice cooperates closely with clients to ensure the delivery of results in a short time frame. This requires a different client engagement model and people with hands-on skill sets. I believe Stepan will bring both the knowledge and the experience to make that difference to our clients and I wish him a lot of success.” 

Creyghton himself has been with The Boston Consulting Group for more than 24 years. He succeeded the Dutchman Huib Kurstjens (still at the consultancy) in 2014, prior to that he stood at the helm of BCG’s office in San Francisco. Under his leadership, BCG is on a strong run: the firm has managed to grow its team to over 200 consultants. Globally, The Boston Consulting Group generates revenues of $5.6 billion.

* BCG’s TURN practice is led by the Dane Lars Fæste, who has been with the management consultancy for over twenty years.