For me, that has meant working across industries advising CEOs, CFOs, and business-unit presidents on their top issues.

For my clients, it has meant changing the rules of the game and outperforming the market as a result. For a Fortune 500 consumer goods company, I helped develop 35 products for a critical new channel in less than six months—as opposed to the six new products they had launched in the previous year. This energized the entire organization to grow. Another one of my clients, armed with insight from our project assessing the value of their strategic plan, negotiated a sale of the company for a 40 percent premium—significantly higher than a previous offer. This created billions of dollars of value for shareholders—now that’s real impact!

Mark joined BCG in 2004 and is a member of the Consumer practice.

Before BCG, he worked at GlaxoSmithKline for two years in market research and brand management and also worked for the sales division of a European outdoor media company.

Mark holds an MBA with high distinction from the University of Michigan Business School, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in business studies from Oxford Brookes University.

Over the 12 years since I joined the company, BCG has worked with me throughout my different life stages to help me excel, be challenged and continue to grow while balancing my needs outside work. I joined BCG straight out of an undergraduate engineering degree and after three exciting years in the Sydney office I wanted to get some international non-consulting experience. BCG supported me in taking up an interesting position in London for a year.

After finishing my MBA at Harvard Business School, BCG supported my transfer to the New York office – and then several years later supported my return back to Sydney with my family.

When my first (and then my second and third) child was born I wanted to work part-time while continuing to contribute successfully as a consultant. BCG supported me, and together over the years we have explored several different part time models to best work in with my clients’ needs as well as my home life.

Jane graduated from the University of Sydney in 1996 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical), and received her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Jane joined BCG in 1997.

Since college I have wanted to deliver real impact in a creative area based on the law. After graduating, I joined an insurance company. Even though I was told that I worked quickly and worked well, about three years after joining the company I began to feel dissatisfied. It was time to think about my next career move. I looked for another division to which I could relocate, but found that a transfer took about ten years, and I couldn’t wait that long.

I decided then to look outside. Management consulting resolves corporate leaders’ problems. This came close to my career goal and the creativity I wanted to express. Another point was that BCG people are all very smart. Their conversation is stimulating. I felt strongly that I would be able to grow quickly at BCG. A key capability in consulting is using your brain in a completely different way. In other words, you become clear about those areas you need to develop. Because there is much to be learned, you grow with each new challenge. My strongest desire now is to satisfy my clients. As you devote yourself to your work at BCG, your future career comes naturally into focus. Working at BCG represents the quickest path to achieving your goals.

Toshifumi holds a BA in law from the University of Tokyo.

Toshifumi joined BCG’s Tokyo office in July 2003.

I joined BCG as a fresh-faced undergraduate not really sure what consultants do! I was attracted by the idea of constantly having new experiences–whether it was through the clients I would work with, the problems we would tackle or the cities I would work in.

Eight years down the track, BCG has delivered this–and more. What surprised me most has been the real flexibility I have had in managing my career and being a mum to two energetic little boys. For the past three years BCG supported me working part-time and enabled me to minimize the travel required. While it is a juggle, for me it is important to get time at home with my children whilst I continue to develop my career.

Having a good network of other working mothers has been valuable support for me. In addition to fascinating local case work, I’ve experienced an 18-month secondment at a subscription television company and worked in London. I’ve been able to steer my career into industries I am passionate about, especially media, and I am still excited and inspired with the talented colleagues and clients I get to work with.

Anna graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Bachelor of Business with Distinction.

She joined BCG in 2000.

After ten years in the software industry, I was ready to make a complete career shift. I was fortunate to have experienced the dot-com era at my own software start-up, but I wanted to move to a more diverse set of problems and industries. I was excited by BCGers’ descriptions of their fascinating work on the cutting edge of business strategy.

My first project with BCG was completely outside the bounds of my traditional work experience. I joined a team focused on designing new products for a major retail-energy company and had to quickly develop new frameworks for analyzing the market in order to determine the best opportunities for our client. The project truly pushed the limits of my abilities and extended my reach beyond my MBA and my experience as an executive in the technology sector.

Michael joined BCG’s Dallas office in 2007.

Before BCG, he worked as vice president of corporate and product strategy for Viewlocity, a supply-chain management software firm.

Michael received his MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He also holds a BS in electrical engineering and computer science from Duke University.

The London Women’s Initiative’s overall objective is to increase the attractiveness to women of a long term consulting career at BCG and therefore to improve our ability to attract and retain the best women available. To achieve this BCG is seeking to better understand what is important to women in their work so we can ensure we meet their needs and to continue to provide a workforce culture that is as attractive to women as it is to men.

Through a vibrant schedule of breakfast meetings, training sessions, mentoring lunches, bonding and women’s alumni events, we provide a forum and a supportive network where our consulting women can socialise and discuss issues and topics of interest. Our CEO, Hans Paul Buerkner, supports the Women’s Initiative wholeheartedly recognising that “women are extraordinarily effective in our client work, in ways that are increasingly important as we seek to deliver change in organisations”

Niamh is a core member of the Corporate Development, Energy and Operations practice areas.

Before joining the firm, she worked for Exxon Chemicals in the UK and Brussels where she was Sales Manager for solvents to UK printing and copying industries, Coordinator of Quality program for the sales and distribution organization, and Business Planning and Strategy Manager.

Niamh graduated 1st in class in International Marketing and Languages at Dublin City University, including a year at the University of Trier, Germany.

I was lucky to complete an internship at BCG at the end of my second year at Supélec and I signed my hiring offer at the end of this internship. If I had to do it again, I would, without any hesitation! After a quite generalist education course, I progressively specialized in the pharmaceutical industry, and I acquired an expertise in the operations and sales and marketing areas.

After school, I wanted to go abroad. I took this into account when I applied to BCG and the promise has been kept—my assignments led me to work several times in Italy, in Spain, in China, in India, in Sweden, in England, in Switzerland, and I also spent one year in the New York office through the Ambassador program.

Jérôme joined the BCG's Paris office in 2002. Jérôme spent one year in the New York office and five years in the Paris office.

He graduated from Supélec.

After completing my International Business studies at Reutlingen University and my MBA at the EGADE, Mexico, I joined BCG.

During my studies I made several internships incl. private equity and consultancy. I got to know BCG during an internship which strongly influenced my decision to join BCG afterwards.

From my start with BCG, I joined the "Outing team" of the Munich office. With this team we organize the annual office retreat, a summer party and the Christmas Party. In addition, there is a whole lot of further "BCG-made" events such as art exhibition visits, soccer games, etc. And this is where you get to the essence of our company, a multitude of fascinating people who make BCG so special. For me, it's not only working with BCGers that enthuses me. The same counts for partying with them – and I remember many wonderful after-hour moments that form an important part of my time with BCG.

In working with the client, I highly appreciate that we as BCG work very closely with the client. On my last case, we actually worked as one joint team, which both the client and the BCG team found most stimulating. Relationships with our clients do not stop with the official project end. It is great to stay in contact to see how the client is developing and what impact our ideas are having in the long run. Over the years, some of my former clients have become valuable sparring partners and even close friends.

When I decided to transition from academia to the business world, I knew that I wanted to work in an environment where I would be challenged intellectually, and where both my partner and I would feel fully welcome. Through BCG’s LGBT Initiative, I have been able to connect with a tremendous group of peers spanning all regions of the globe and all levels of tenure. The network has truly become my extended BCG family. The corporate support given to the LGBT Initiative demonstrates BCG’s commitment to diversity, and it is no surprise that there has been tremendous growth in membership in recent years.

Coming to BCG with a background in archaeology and anthropology, I wanted the opportunity to use my nontraditional skills when approaching business problems. Whether it is around the case team table or in working directly with clients, I have been strongly encouraged to offer my unique approaches to tackling problems and to push my thinking further in ways that go well beyond my base of experience.

As I chart my course through BCG, I know that my career development is strongly supported by both the formal mentor network in my office and the mentoring provided by the LGBT Initiative. Through these networks, I have established relationships with a number of senior leaders in the firm who have shown a clear interest in ensuring that I grow as a consulting professional, find intellectual challenge, and have a positive experience at BCG.

Gabrielle completed a doctorate in Middle Eastern archaeology at the University of Chicago, where her academic research focused on the influence of cultural factors on the development of early urban economic systems.

Her projects at BCG have included supply-management reorganization for a global industrial goods firm and supply-chain optimization for one of America’s largest nonprofits.

She is also active in LGBT recruiting.

When solving a case study with a candidate during a job interview, I mostly focus on learning his or her approach to tackling business problems. Does he or she use logical thinking and causal reasoning, or do they use standard frameworks learned in school?

I talked with many candidates who, having graduated from the best business schools around the world, were very efficient at applying schematic solutions. Yet when asked a question going beyond this, they were unable to provide an answer. Porter's Five Forces Analysis was a dead end for them as they blindly relied on the schemes instead of trusting their own minds.

On the other hand, I met people who knew nothing about balance sheets or profit and loss accounts, not to mention such concepts as the Porter's Five Forces. However, when asked about competition dynamics in a chosen industry, they could logically structure the problem, looked for interrelations, and were able to indicate the reason why our client’s market share was decreasing.

At BCG, where we constantly deal with the most critical problems of our clients, logic and unique ideas pave the path to success.

Marcin is a partner in the Warsaw office of BCG.

He joined the team in 2000. He specialises in project finance.

Marcin graduated from the Viadrina University and also holds an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management.

Many recent projects have focused on environmental themes, which is very satisfying in that we are able to contribute to society through our project work. However, at first I was dismayed by requests for help from clients who wanted to start an environmental business, because I was not sure about what we could come up with in such an unpredictable and unchartered area.

The newer the area, the more the consultants will return to the basics. I saw the light when I asked myself, “Will anybody really be affected by an increase in carbon dioxide emissions?” Destroying our own assumptions is when we identify business opportunities for the client.

BCG offers opportunities for challenges at the forefront of many fields. Every day I work with clients to extend the boundaries of their fields, and it is a challenge I never tire of.

Wataru holds a BA in policy and management from Keio University.

Wataru joined BCG’s Tokyo office in January 2005.

Continuous learning, growth, and the chance to encounter new problems and people are very important to me. The projects I work on at BCG continue to meet these expectations, but only by moving to another country can completely new possibilities reveal themselves.

The Ambassador Program brings you the possibility of a twelve-month secondment to one of the BCG offices abroad. In 2008 I moved to Toronto where I worked on projects for companies based in Canada and the United States. This gave me the opportunity to try my skills in a new environment, and experience working in new teams, with new clients, whilst solving new problems.

The experience gained during the Ambassador Program helped me grow further, expand my knowledge, acquire new skills, and gain a wider perspective. At the same time, my stay in Canada was the perfect base to travel from, and make new friends.

Jarek joined the team in 2005. He focuses on projects in financial, telecommunications, and energy sectors.

Before joining BCG, Jarek worked in investment banking after graduating from the Warsaw School of Economics.

When I joined BCG I though that my room for learning was somewhat limited. I was an engineer with four years of experience on the strategy department of a multinational firm, and I had just graduated from MIT. However, I was wrong.

My first case assignment was in the financial services sector, an area in which I have no experience at all. Within one week I had to catch up with the business dynamics and analyze the competitive situation of our client and the business he was focusing on. And I did it! And after 11 weeks I was able to justify an impact of €8  million in the client's P&L. And this time it was not a case study—it was for real!

What surprised me the most is that the aforementioned experience was not a one-time occurrence, but rather it has ended up being my day-to-day work since then.

I have been working in different sectors and solving issues that I could have never imagined. The help of my teams has been important to doing it successfully.  The different backgrounds of the people I work with have given me a boarder perspective when facing problems. And even as a project leader, I keep learning from the consultants working with me.

The continuous learning process at BCG has provided the same intellectual challenge and motivation that led me to pursue my MBA.

Before joining BCG, Micaela worked for four years at Telefónica de Argentina, where she was an analyst in the strategic planning department and a product manager in the corporate development area of the internet subsidiary.

She holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She also earned a master’s degree with honors in industrial engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

At BCG, we do not simply hand recommendations to clients. Instead, we closely collaborate with clients as thought partners. Each day on a case, I spend several hours with clients, discussing and debating ideas. Our ongoing dialogue, where BCG offers out-of-the-box thinking and the client provides industry expertise, leads to unique solutions we could not develop alone.

On a recent health care project, for example, my client was attached to his “baby”—a large research investment. After jointly reassessing the opportunity, we identified a lower-risk approach not previously considered.

Closely working with the client also gives me the chance to learn from leaders in my field of interest. From each client case, I have gained mentors that I continue to turn to for advice.