Christine Barton, managing director and senior partner at BCG and the North America CEO Advisory lead, has always believed in a simple but powerful idea: you shouldn’t have to choose between a fulfilling career and a full family life. For more than 25 years, and now as among the most senior tenured women at the firm, she has helped shape the trajectory of BCG’s Consumer practice—bringing in tremendous value—while balancing work and family in a deeply satisfying way. It’s a mindset that has guided her through years of evolving responsibilities and each personal and professional challenge along the way.
Consulting wasn’t always part of the plan; I just knew I wanted to help people professionally. I started with a law degree, then was drawn to consulting for its project-based nature, the steep learning curves, and the dynamic range of industries and topics.
Early on, I sought out the most challenging, complex projects. My ambition wasn’t just to work at the cutting edge; I wanted to develop true expertise in a specific field. That’s what led me to BCG’s Consumer practice, where I’ve advised brands across apparel, beauty, and other areas, working closely with both CEOs and their direct reports.
Along the way, I got one piece of advice that has served me throughout my career: figure out what matters most at the firm and align yourself with it. That means staying deeply focused on client relationships, delivering demonstrable value in ways that are both meaningful to them and aligned with BCG’s goals. Over time, I not only have built expertise in consumer and sector-related insights, but also have become a trusted advisor.
The Human Side of Leadership
After years of working closely with clients, I started feeling a pull to expand my impact, to dig deeper into what effective leadership truly looks like. I had been a frequent user of BCG’s CEO Advisory program in the early years of its existence. The program is designed to support the success of current and prospective CEOs through individual, guided self-reflection and counsel as well as the convening of peer forums. As I became more heavily involved, I was eventually asked to be the North America CEO Advisory lead about four years ago.
The program has opened my eyes to how multifaceted the role of the CEO is—a job that in certain ways has become more demanding over the years. As consultants, we see a sliver of a CEO’s priorities and worries. But CEO Advisory has exposed me to more of the complexities of CEOs’ professional and personal challenges as they balance the delivery of short-term business goals with long-term transformation. This work has been a revelation; it’s allowed me to connect with not just their strategic agendas but also their personal ambitions and the human side of leadership.
In fact, one of the most rewarding parts of my work with CEO Advisory is offering support on decisions that extend well beyond the boardroom—from leadership development to career transitions and even personal advice such as uprooting a family to move to a new city. It’s this combination of professional and personal advisory work, reaching beyond the typical consultant-client relationship, that after 25 years keeps me both engaged and constantly stretching my skills.
Leadership, Representation, and Respect for the Individual
When I joined BCG in 1999, I quickly realized that I was one of very few women in a client-facing role. That made balancing family and career be full of even more uncertainties. But during the interview process, I could sense that respect for the individual was foundational to the firm’s culture—a value that has held me steady through all the challenges and growth of my career. I always felt that I could bring my whole self to the job and find a path forward that worked for not only me but also BCG.
There were times I faced judgment, both from external forces and from within myself. The family model I grew up with didn’t involve having support, such as a nanny, so I had to rethink my own assumptions about what it meant to be a “good” working mother. I learned to let go of my doubts and try approaches that worked for us all, constantly reevaluating and tweaking our solutions. I think this is a mindset many working mothers face.
I’ve received a lot of anachronistic advice throughout my career: you can’t have more than one kid, be a BCG partner, and still be active in your children’s lives. You can’t do transformative work unless you’re on a client’s site five days a week. You have to join a country club and learn golf to be a successful MDP.
It was all false—and laughable now—but luckily I had an innate filter. Plus, I have come to learn that unsolicited advice tends to have more to do with the person giving it than the one receiving it.
I have always had a foundational belief that you should be able to have a successful career and a fulfilling personal life. I hope I have helped lay a path that makes it easier and better for those who have come after me to lead an ambitious professional life without having to sacrifice personal human connection.
Balancing Personal and Professional Commitments
My family is at the core of who I am. My husband and I have been married for nearly 20 years, and we’re raising three children: a 16 year-old and 10-year-old twins. Over the years, we’ve moved multiple times, sometimes for my career, sometimes for family needs. Now I’m in a new chapter, balancing career demands with the care of our aging parents. In many ways, it’s a full-circle moment, reminding me of when my kids were young and I had to be creative about finding balance and flexibility.
Through it all, I have learned to be intentional about my professional priorities, always thinking about whether my involvement will meaningfully or materially improve an outcome or whether a decision is especially nuanced or risky and needs my input. That effort has allowed me to say “yes” at the right moments with clients, help to build BCG in way I can be proud of, and not dwell on perfectionism.
When people ask me about balance, I think back to a scene from Frozen 2, a movie my girls love. There’s a moment when Anna is in a dark cave, feeling lost and untethered, and all she can do is focus on doing “the next right thing.” To me, that’s a perfect metaphor for balancing family, career, and my core self.
Life’s journey, especially for working parents, often isn’t about grand plans, but rather about making the best decision you can at each moment, and then doing it again. I’ve tried to live that way, guided by my belief that it’s possible to honor both your family and your career.
