The BCG Effect: Career Lessons from Fellow Alumnae
Discover the empowering stories of three BCG graduates, who share their invaluable career insights and leadership advice gained through their journey at BCG and beyond. This compilation of quotes dives into their personal and professional paths, revealing unique strategies and philosophies that drove their successes. At BCG we celebrate our alumni community’s diverse paths and achievements and promote their stories as an inspirational resource for leaders who drive significant impact to advance the world.
“Learning to deal with ambiguity and taking it in stride cannot be underestimated. This has served me well professionally as there are so many times when a problem is messy and nebulous and being able to guide the group to a framing and path forward is massively valuable. This has been equally, if not more, valuable as I have journeyed into parenthood and all the literal and emotional messiness that comes with it. The other big learning is the ability to tell a story. Storytelling is a hugely underestimated skill. If you can paint a clear, coherent, concise picture, you can unlock all sorts of doors.”
Imogen Pryce
Chief Operating Officer
R&D Relay Therapeutics
BCG Los Angeles, 2011-2017
“There are many learnings I have gained from BCG:
Thinking on my feet – Very important as a leader to be able to think through complex problems and structure them in piecemeal chunks to then solve them.
Storytelling – People love good stories and telling an engaging story has been very valuable for me in my professional and personal life.
Bringing people along the journey – As consultants, we are always told to engage with the client and bring them along the journey. I value this learning as you can have the best ideas/strategy in the world but if there is no buy-in or people don’t get it, it's wasted brilliance. I notice the art of this skill a lot more, not only in my career but also in politics, personal life, etc. If you can’t get someone to see your viewpoint then you can never have them back you up.
Embracing Diversity & Inclusion – BCG gave me exposure to work with people from across the world with diverse backgrounds (educationally, ethnically, culturally, etc.). Being on cases with people from varied backgrounds has taught me to embrace the power of diversity and leverage it as a strength to bring the best thinking forward. It has also taught me to understand people at a personal level to drive the best in them as a leader. While sometimes painful, it is important to learn to be patient and ensure that you are not excluding anyone’s views because they are different from you.”
Supriya Mundra
Group Strategy & Transformation Director
Holland & Barrett
BCG London, 2019-2020
“At the start of my career, I spent a lot of time trying to fit into the company culture or the team I was joining forces with, seeking approval from those I interacted with. The advice that helped me the most was to focus on being my best self with all my vulnerabilities and strengths and to focus on identifying the core values I want to stand for. Being aware and accepting of who I am has become a factor I embed in my daily choices as I strive to grow to the woman I want to be both professionally and personally.
BCG made me a well-rounded and informed professional. The exposure I gained to different industries and practices is incredible. Being around a community of individuals who strive to be at their best and develop each day to be able to shape and support the future of industries and government alike has inspired me to put lifelong learning as a top priority.”
Leila Naguib
Gulf Corporate Affairs Manager
Mars
BCG Dubai, 2016-2021
