BrazilMeet BCG's new CEO: the German Christoph Schweizer
After leading the global strategy consulting firm for nearly nine years, Boston Consulting Group CEO Rich Lesser will on October 1, 2021 pass on the baton to Christoph Schweizer, a German-origin 23-year veteran of the firm.
Christoph Schweizer joined Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 1997 in Munich, and ascended the ranks in the firm’s German organisation. A decade on, he moved stateside to spend five years in BCG’s New York office, before returning to Germany in 2012. Since then, he has held several senior roles, including global leader of the Healthcare practice, global head of practice areas and head of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East since 2017 (his current remit).
In four months time, Schweizer will take on the largest challenge of his career, leading one of the globe’s most prestigious management consulting firms and its 22,000-strong team in over 50 countries. Schweizer was elected by BCG’s 1,500 managing directors & partners across a week-long voting process.
At BCG, all managing directors & partners have an equal vote in the election, in contrast to a number of the firm’s main rivals such as McKinsey & Company, where senior partners have a bigger vote than their junior peers.
“I'm incredibly grateful to our partners for the trust they’ve placed in me to lead this world-class organisation as we enter a new chapter of unprecedented change, challenge, and opportunity for our clients and for the world," said CEO-elect Schweizer.
The 48-year-old German – who becomes BCG’s seventh CEO in its 58-year history – will have big shoes to fill. During Rich Lesser’s three terms in the office, Boston Consulting Group booked impressive growth, tripling its revenue and more than doubling its workforce. Following this, BCG expanded its footprint from 42 to 51 countries.
Much of this growth came on the back of a diversification strategy. A decade ago, BCG was a pure strategy house, today the consulting firm also has a major presence in segments including digital incubation (BCG Digital Ventures), purpose consulting (BrightHouse), supply chain and procurement (BCG Inverto), digital transformation (BCG Platinion), restructuring (BCG Turn), and data analytics (BCG Gamma), among others.
Digital in particular has been a growth jewel for the firm, with technology, digital, and analytics now representing nearly 40% of BCG’s revenues, up from less than 10% a decade ago.
Meanwhile, Lesser also convinced BCG’s partner team to pursue an inorganic growth agenda – a rare-ish move for a partnership that has always preferred organic growth to bolt-ons. According to Consultancy.org’s database of BCG deals, the consultancy closed over ten deals during his tenure.
“I've had the pleasure of working closely with Christoph as he has successfully built strong, diverse teams and robust, resilient businesses in a wide range of countries around the world, as well as cutting-edge capabilities in our practices,” said Lesser on his successor. Christoph brings integrity, vision, and bold leadership.”
Lesser will meanwhile remain with the firm, and transition to the role of global chair. BCG's current chairman, Hans-Paul Bürkner, will assume the role of managing director and global chair emeritus.
