Hans-Paul Bürkner
Chairman
Frankfurt
Hans-Paul Bürkner was president and chief executive officer of The Boston Consulting Group from 2004 to 2012—the company’s fifth CEO. Before taking on that role, he was head of BCG’s global Financial Services practice, the chair of the practice areas, and a member of the Executive Committee.
Consulting magazine named Hans-Paul a Top 25 Consultant in 2003. Under his leadership, BCG established the Public Sector and Sustainability practices, the social-impact and education initiatives, and the Insurance and Marketing and Sales practices. In addition, 18 offices were opened around the world. The partner group and the global staff more than doubled and revenues tripled.
Hans-Paul’s key focus areas have been globalization and transformation. The opening up of economies around the world and connectivity through technology have created enormous momentum, opportunities, and challenges for countries and for companies—in both emerging and developed markets.
Business models in essentially all industries have changed or are in the process of changing. This requires companies to transform their business portfolios, organization, processes, leadership styles, and cultures—if they are to continue to grow and flourish. BCG’s focus has become supporting clients in making good use of these opportunities and enabling their people and organizations to deal proactively with the challenges.
Hans-Paul joined BCG in 1981, and over the course of those three-plus decades he has counted among his clients many of the world’s leading companies. He has helped to redefine strategies and organizations, spearheaded major global expansion initiatives, and supported companies in the fundamental transformation of their businesses.
Today, Hans-Paul travels extensively in the 46 countries in which BCG operates in order to support key clients and teams.
Revolutionary tech advances, the changing paradigm of training, and the rise of the bionic company demand radical rethinking of the corporate L&D function.
Industrial players have no time to lose. They need to catch up in digital by committing to a dramatic transformation.
Its leaders must quickly implement policy reforms that will enable EU companies to deploy AI at scale.
For the large firms, working closely with the EU means avoiding a stalemate and gaining long-term competitive advantage.
The future will not be as dire as many predict—so long as we work together to meet our most pressing challenges and apply the solutions with diligence and consistency.
Strategy has never been about aiming for average. And it certainly isn’t now, in an age of declining growth and increasing volatility. Here’s how to defy the mean and pursue the exceptional.
The goal is not to unseat the tech giants or even to defend market share. It’s to acquire the tools and the mindset you need to pursue opportunities in the digital age.
Despite a worldwide economic resurgence, growth in employment is mixed. Governments must capitalize on the digitally integrated global economy to create jobs.
In an era of perpetual disruption, companies face an urgent need to transform, yet most large initiatives fail. A new study identifies the factors that lead to higher success rates.
