Beyond the Bio

Adrienne King, executive VP of Bain’s Americas Talent Management, and Modupe Akinola, Bain alum and associate professor of management at Columbia Business School, built the framework for Bain to recruit and retain our Blacks at Bain community (BABs). On this encore episode of Beyond the Bio, they share their journey of pioneering and implementing ExperienceBain, a pre-MBA program for Black recruits attending business school, as well as organizing an annual conference for our Black community and developing our firm’s infrastructure to support underrepresented individuals.

Rebecca Burack, a partner in our Boston office, transitioned from an industrial engineering career to consulting after learning about Bain through her manager who was pursuing a career at the firm. Once joining Bain, Rebecca did everything to avoid private equity cases, but as she accelerated within her career, she learned why it's important to jump on these cases early to succeed in the consulting world. Now as a leader in our private equity group (PEG), Rebecca shares the origins of private equity consulting, the importance of PEG and how consultants can navigate within this practice for career success.

Christophe De Vusser, a partner in our Brussels office and the head of our EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) private equity practice, joined Bain after leaving his purchasing and strategic sourcing career at Proctor and Gamble (P&G). Seeking more opportunity that Bain could offer, Christophe found himself enjoying work in the private equity practice, strongly focusing on environmental, social and governance work (ESG). Christophe shares why investors are being more thoughtful about ESG and how Bain is a leader in incorporating sustainability within the private equity space.

Kelly Boone Swaintek, a partner in our Austin office, transitioned to a career in consulting after serving in the U.S. Army. Knowing firsthand the challenges veterans face reentering civilian life and the workforce, Kelly has made it her mission to support veteran Bainies transition from one career to the next as well as advocate recruiting them and their talents to Bain.

Anita Cohen and Andrew Kunkel, partners in our Chicago office, didn’t plan on specializing in private equity, but once they were exposed to the world of fast-paced cases and non-standard approaches to problem-solving, they fell in love with the work. Anita and Andrew share their journeys into private equity and PEG, our private equity group, and explain why Bain is the leader in this industry.

João Soares, a partner in our London office and the global head of BGLAD, Bain’s LGBTQ network, shares how he not only transformed his career, but Bain’s approach on creating inclusive communities. *This episode was recorded in June 2021 during PRIDE month. 

Kiki Yang, a partner in our Hong Kong office and the leader of our Asia-Pacific Private Equity practice, shares how Bain has provided flexible opportunities and support for her to create a sustainable and successful career after pivoting from investment banking to consulting.

Pete Forsberg, Chief Operating Officer of our digital marketing agency, FRWD (pronounced “forward”), discusses his journey into disruptive technology and bringing his experience at Uber back to Bain through the FRWD acquisition in 2018 to lead operations in the digital marketing space.