Richard Lesser (born 1962) is an American businessman who has been the chair of American management consultancy

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the "Big Three (management consultancies), Big Three" (or MBB, the world's three large ...

(BCG) since 2021. He previously was CEO from 2013 to 2021.

Early life and education

Lesser grew up in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

during the 1970s, a time of economic hardship for the city due to the collapse of the steel industry at the time. He holds an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, where he was a Baker Scholar, and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, '' summa cum laude'', from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Career

Lesser started his career as a product development engineer and group leader at

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

. In 1988, Lesser joined BCG as a consultant. He was the head of the New York Metro office system from 2000 to 2009, and as BCG's chairman for North and South America from 2009 to 2012. He was elected to the firm's executive committee in 2006. Since joining BCG in 1988, Lesser's client work has focused on strategy, operations, leadership, and large-scale transformation. It is claimed he played a pivotal role in helping BCG become the only global management consulting firm to grow strongly through the 2008 recession. In May 2012, he was elected the successor of Hans-Paul Bürkner as the Global Chief Executive Officer of

. Under his leadership, BCG more than doubled in size to over 22,000 employees and tripled in revenue, fueled by investments in new offices, digital and analytics, and capabilities to drive innovation and transformation. Lesser oversaw the launch of BCG Digital Ventures, a builder and accelerator of digital businesses; BCG Gamma, an analytics and machine-learning team; and BCG TURN, a turnaround, restructuring, and transformation unit; and more recently, the Center for Climate & Sustainability. He oversaw the launch of the Southern Communities Initiative, a partnership between BCG,

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, and Vista Equity Partners to help advance racial equity. In 2021, Lesser was named the Top CEO in America by Glassdoor.

Other involvements

Lesser also is chief advisor to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders. He previously was a member of the WEF’s International Business Council and on the

Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Business Roundtable, including chair of the CEO COVID-19 Task Force. He accelerated BCG's strong investments in social impact through its many partnerships, including the World Food Programme, Save the Children, and the World Wildlife Fund. In December 2016, Lesser joined a business forum assembled by then president-elect

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues. In August 2017, Lesser and other CEOs decided to disband the group. He is a member of the President's Export Council.

Personal life

Lesser is married and has three children.

References

External links

BCG biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesser, Rich American management consultants Living people Boston Consulting Group people Harvard Business School alumni University of Michigan alumni 1962 births American chief executives Businesspeople from Pittsburgh