Richard "Rich" Lesser (born 1962) is an American businessman who has served as the Global Chair of American global management consultancy the

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 larges ...

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

Early life and education

Lesser grew up in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

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 business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

, where he was a Baker Scholar, and a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering,

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

, from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

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, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

. In 1988, Lesser joined BCG as a consultant. He served as 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,

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...

, and

Vista Equity Partners Vista Equity Partners is an American investment firm focused on financing and forwarding software, data, and technology-enabled startup businesses. Vista has invested in hundreds of companies, including Misys, Ping Identity, and Marketo. The ...

to help advance racial equity. In 2021, Lesser was named the Top CEO in America by

Glassdoor Glassdoor is an American website where current and former employees anonymously review companies. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, it has additional offices in Chicago, Dublin, London, and São Paulo. Glassdoor also allows its users to ...

Other Involvements

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

Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses ...

, including serving as 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 An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the U ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues. In August 2017, Lesser and other CEOs decided to disband the group.

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 People from Pittsburgh