What motivated you to rejoin the BCG family via BrightHouse after your time outside? How was the experience different (or similar) from your original tenure?
I had left BCG as a consultant to build up specialized knowledge concerning the human side of our work: how can we truly motivate people and organizations during change processes, and unlock energy long term? What are creative and new methods to do that? When I learned that BrightHouse had become a part of BCG and was being built up in Berlin, I felt this could be the ideal place of work for me: combining my passion for people topics with the amazing and hard-to-match environment of BCG, offering so many opportunities to grow. Coming back, I met old friends and found a lot of the things again that I had missed in the meantime—most of all, the seamless, professional, and fun teaming.
When I learned that BrightHouse had become a part of BCG and was being built up in Berlin, I felt this could be the ideal place of work for me: combining my passion for people topics with the amazing and hard-to-match environment of BCG, offering so many opportunities to grow.”
Looking back at your early years at BCG, what skills or mindsets instilled during those years still guide your work today—especially working with culture, strategy, and people?
My three years at BCG after university taught me many things, among them structured thinking and working, managing complexity and ambiguity, always questioning things until I understand them and until there is a consistent logical thread. I am often stunned that when it comes to people topics and the human side of change, applying the same rigor is still not standard. I love how BCG BrightHouse combines exactly this analytical rigor with the human factor and with creativity—to me, this is the best possible (and most fun) way to do it.
My three years at BCG after university taught me many things, among them structured thinking and working, managing complexity and ambiguity, always questioning things until I understand them and until there is a consistent logical thread.”
As a senior woman, a leader, and a mother, what are some of the tradeoffs you’ve managed, and how have they shaped your leadership style?
I think this has (fortunately) changed a lot. When I was younger, I literally was the only woman in a room many times. Mothers were barely around in my professional life, which I found alienating. Still, I encountered a very open environment at BCG. Today, at BCG and beyond, this has changed a lot and, for me, it comes down to a different tradeoff: how can I be the mother I want to be and work in a fast-paced, challenging environment at the same time? Both aspects have shaped my leadership style—I am a mentor to more junior women and try to showcase that we can be professionally successful as women and as mothers. I feel that, often, it is the small things that make a difference, like talking openly about the tradeoffs—a meeting I cannot take because of my children or the organizational effort that stands behind a longer business trip. Beyond that, as a leader, I always prioritize results and do not expect justifications, re. availabilities etc.—super important to allow for diverse needs.
For alumni thinking about leaving and returning (the boomerang path), or pursuing roles straddling strategy, creativity, and culture work, what advice would you give?
My advice would be the following: to be confident in pursuing your own path at BCG and beyond, and especially to follow your interests. I have felt encouraged to pursue my own path here and even though my career path at BCG wasn’t straightforward, I am now exactly at the place where I want to be. Sometimes it might feel strange to “take a detour” or to come back to a previous environment. But that is not what matters—it matters much more that you build up the expertise you want to have, and that you find the environment where you can be at your best.
When we find strategies to satisfy the underlying human needs of finding meaning and having an impact, we can create intrinsic motivation and unlock energy much needed during transformations. As change will, if anything, accelerate, the need for purpose-driven change is bigger than ever.”
Where do you see the biggest opportunities for purpose‑led consulting over the next few years, particularly in Europe and/or rest of the world?
I think our opportunity is huge. Humans strive for meaning and impact as two basic, underlying needs: knowing why we do something and seeing the positive effect of our own actions. When we find strategies to satisfy these needs, we can create intrinsic motivation and unlock energy much needed during transformations. As change will, if anything, accelerate, the need for purpose-driven change is bigger than ever.