BCG - The Boston Consulting Group

BCG Chicago was the second U.S. office to be opened in what has become The Boston Consulting Group's worldwide network. Over the 28 years since its founding, BCG Chicago has emerged as one of the largest, most diverse, and most influential offices within the firm.

BCG Chicago has experienced consistent double-digit growth in both revenue and staff since the early 1980s through its ongoing commitment to generating superior results for clients through innovation, insight, and leadership. This success has been built upon long-term client relationships, an expanding and highly diversified client base, and the talent, diligence, and values of the consulting staff.

BCG Chicago provides a range of services including corporate development and strategy work for a client roster that includes consumer packaged goods, financial services, industrial goods, retail, consumer durables, and health care companies. BCG Chicago also plays an important role in the growth and vitality of BCG worldwide. The firm's regional heads of recruiting and training both call the Windy City their home, as does chairman Carl Stern. Many other leaders of practice areas and various BCG offices have also emerged from the Chicago office.

The Chicago office actively participates in BCG's Ambassador Program, a selective program that allows consultants to work abroad for 12 months or more. The office size and strong senior presence have made BCG Chicago an attractive choice for ambassadors from other countries. Additionally, each year several Chicago consultants have opted to further their careers overseas in places like Sydney, Paris, and Shanghai.

Even while it enjoys a strong global influence, BCG Chicago maintains an ongoing commitment to the local community. The office has an active Community Affairs Committee that coordinates locally focused efforts within the company. Currently, the office is engaged in a high-school transformation effort in conjunction with Chicago Public Schools and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; it is also helping America’s Second Harvest, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States, enhance efficiency among its vast national network of food banks. Pro-bono work at BCG Chicago also includes projects for the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lincoln Park Zoo, Metropolitan Family Services, and the United Way. The Community Service Committee has been involved with Special Olympics, Chicago Cares, and office-run clothing drives.

BCG Chicago employees get together often for soccer and basketball, and participate avidly in the BCG Olympics. Social highlights include sailing on Lake Michigan, wine-tasting events, barbecues and picnics, and a fantastic annual holiday party. Furthermore, the city is home to world-renowned architecture and arts institutions, a thriving cultural scene, and recreational beaches and lakefront paths.

Despite two decades of unparalleled success, BCG Chicago continues to foster the entrepreneurial and creative spirit that's at the heart of the firm's culture. Its office environment is informal, highly collegial, and nonhierarchical. In short, it's a place where individual choice and initiative play critical roles.

In early 2005, BCG Chicago began to partner with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on an ambitious ten-year transformation of CPS high schools. With the goal of graduating all CPS students prepared for college and employment, BCG worked with CPS to develop a robust strategic plan to make this possible. We continue to provide change management and project management support for this transformation.