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David Panhans leads Boston Consulting Group’s Technology, Media, & Telecommunications practice and coordinates BCG’s Digital & Analytics efforts in the Middle East.

Since joining BCG in 2011, David has worked with numerous fixed and mobile operators on projects related to corporate strategy, opportunity assessments, and commercial turnaround strategies. He has acquired extensive experience partnering with clients in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

David’s project experience includes leading the development of an integrated broadband strategy for a large Middle Eastern operator, and he has also worked with telecommunications clients to redesign their consumer market offering portfolios and pricing strategies. He has also helped a wide range of companies in the areas of due diligence, market-entry strategy, investment strategy, and business transformation.

Prior to joining BCG, David was cofounder of a leading European Internet start-up (dooyoo.com) and responsible for the business model strategy and product development. He also worked as a quality controller in the main manufacturing plant of Mercedes-Benz in Sindelfingen, Stuttgart.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

EDUCATION

  • Postgraduate Master's (with honors), Iinternational business, ESCP Europe, Paris
  • Business administration degree (Diplom-Kaufmann, with honors), University of Hagen, Germany

Publications and Videos

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Unlocking Potential: Strategies Driving GCC’s Digital & AI Maturity

GCC organizations are at a turning point—learn how they can bridge digital and AI maturity gaps to compete on the global stage.
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Let the Game Begin: How Esports Is Shaping the Future of Live Entertainment

Discover the dynamic world of esports, covering its unique features, evolution, and the Middle East's promising role as an emerging leader in this rapidly growing industry.
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Game Changer: Accelerating the Media Industry’s Most Dynamic Sector

Discover how the gaming industry, now the second-largest media sector, is rapidly growing and why the Middle East is positioned to capture billions of dollars in new value over the next decade.
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Why Children Are Unsafe in Cyberspace

The risks children face online are growing, and the current responses aren’t nearly enough. Fixing the problem will require a comprehensive global strategy.
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Empowering Women to Work in Cybersecurity Is a Win-Win

There’s a huge opportunity to expand the numbers and capabilities of the cybersecurity workforce by attracting women to the field.
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Digital Value Creation: Bionic Path for the Middle East

Digital value creation continues to gain momentum as a strategic imperative for companies around the globe. Read on to learn what BCG's DAI study has uncovered here.
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Gaming & Esports: Media’s Next Paradigm SHIFT

Gaming & esports is a vibrant and fast-growing sector, powered largely by the passion of 3 billion enthusiasts around the globe. With its substantial revenue potential, the high-quality jobs it creates, and its reputational benefits, Gaming & esports presents rich opportunities for industry and national governments alike.
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The Five Imperatives of a Successful Digital Transformation

The proliferation of high-speed connectivity, coupled with the pace of changing preferences across demographics, has created the need for services and solutions that are faster and easier to access. Digital is here to stay and it is the only way forward. It is therefore vital that companies today ensure the right implementation of digital transformation to ensure survival and success for the future.
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An Iterative Approach to Data and Digital Transformation

Burdened by legacy and facing mass disruption, the technology, media, and telecoms sector requires an iterative approach to data and digital platform transformation to help lead them into the fourth industrial revolution.
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The Race for Advantage: Augmenting the Company Beyond Human Limits

Find out how exactly does RPA impact customer experience, efficiency, and the role they play in speed to market.
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Bionic Champions In the Middle East

As part of a recent global digital maturity study, centered around our proprietary Digital Acceleration Index (DAI) framework, BCG surveyed ~150 companies in the Middle East, focusing on the largest companies in the GCC. Survey responses were used to identify Bionic Champions – those most digitally mature and contrast them with Laggards. This article shares key findings on how these Bionic Champions outperform by leveraging digital boosters to drive performance and resilience.
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The Coming Battle for Spectrum

Wireless spectrum is in high demand. New users and applications are emerging rapidly. To maximize this limited natural resource, countries must adopt a new management model.