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Lauri Saarela leads Boston Consulting Group’s work in materials and process industries in the Nordics, as well as the Industrial Goods practice for Helsinki. His current clients are leading Nordic and global industrial companies and investors. Lauri is also an active member of the Principle Investors & Private Equity (PIPE) practice at the firm.

Since joining BCG in 2010, Lauri has focused on process industry (specifically forest products) and machinery, and he has strong experience in leading major transformation programs including strategy development, implementation, large-scale change, and operational turnaround.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

EDUCATION

  • MSc, finance, economics, Helsinki University of Technology
  • MSc, industrial engineering and management, Helsinki School of Economics

Publications and Videos

Finland’s Moonshots for Green Growth | Hero

Finland’s Moonshots for Green Growth

Through five Moonshots, Finland can simultaneously drive growth and thereby well-being, reach its own ambitious climate targets, and become greater than its size in solving the climate crisis.
Nordic Net Zero Hero

Nordic Net Zero: The Green Business Opportunity

With the potential to create over 350,000 jobs, Nordic net zero is the largest opportunity individual businesses and the economy have seen for decades. It will require the Nordics to decarbonize smartly and invest approximately €860 billion, but immediate action puts the economic benefits within reach.
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Husqvarna: Honing a Competitive Edge

The world-famous power tool maker reorganized, refocused its product lines, and revved up its margins, achieving a remarkable turnaround with record results.
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Danske Bank: Rediscovering the Customer

Following the 2008 financial crisis, Danske Bank launched a dramatic comeback with a campaign to boost margin, streamline operations, and win customers with digital services.
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The Nordic Comeback Kids: Turnaround Stars and Their Stories

These value creation stars ranked in the top quartile of value creation after a turnaround. Although they took different paths, all followed three core principles.
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Royal Unibrew: Crafting a Turnaround from a Winning M&A Move

After a near-brush with bankruptcy, this beer maker parlayed a strategic acquisition into a well-devised corporate repositioning for rapid growth and expansion into new markets.
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BillerudKorsnäs and Metsä Board: Two Paper Companies, Two Routes to Reinvention

Digital decimated the paper industry worldwide. These two century-old companies rebounded by shifting to packaging—one via M&A, the other by revamping its portfolio.