This year we are proud to announce Boston Consulting Group as our Knowledge Partner. Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm that operates across industries and geographies as one integrated team. Today, as a top consulting firm, they help clients with total transformation – driving complex change, enabling organizations to grow, building competitive advantage, and driving bottom-line impact.
We had a talk with Anders Fæste, Managing Director and Partner in BCG Copenhagen.
Anders is Cand.Polit from the University of Copenhagen. As an economist with great experience, his best advice for students of economics is to focus on what they find the most interesting. He says:
“Cand.Polit is a very broad education allowing you to grapple with many different disciplines such as econometrics, health economics, industrial economics, microeconomics, etc. No matter which direction you choose at Cand.Polit, you will leave with a backpack full of useful tools, well prepared for a wide range of exciting job opportunities.”
Anders Fæste. Managing Director and Partner at BCG Copenhagen.
He emphasizes how students of economics should choose a direction that they feel passionate about. Furthermore, he links this to the labor market:
“The world is changing at an unprecedented speed. New technologies bring new capabilities that you need to be able to master. So, try to find a job that encourages your personal growth and development, get your hands on as many different tasks as possible and be open to challenges. That would be my best advice.”
A CAREER AT BCG
In our interview, we were interested in learning which skills from Anders’ studies he found the most valuable in his journey towards his current position at BCG. He says:
“Naturally, you really develop your analytical skills – mostly on quants or on modeling, etc., which is really beneficial in your career after university. However, if I am to highlight the most valuable lesson from my education, I would point to the ability to break a complicated problem into logical pieces. Being able to structure my thinking, use data, analyze different components and put it all together in the end, to come up with a logical, fact-based, well-founded recommendation, really equipped me before I joined BCG.“
“To highlight the most valuable lesson from my education, I would point to the ability to break a complicated problem into logical pieces. “
We also wanted to know what the best aspects of being a consultant are, and what challenges Anders faces as a consultant. Anders explained to us that what really drives him is the opportunity to have an impact on important matters, whether it is a company, the public sector or an NGO.
CURRICULUM VITAE
2005 – present
Partner and Managing Director, Managing Partner of BCG Denmark – The Boston Consulting group (BCG)
2011 – 2012
Head of marketing – Mærsk Tankers – A.P Møller – Mærsk Group
2002 – 2003
Research associate – Nykredit Markets
2002 – 2005
MSC, Economics, University of Copenhagen
He mentions how when BCG is involved, they always try to solve the most difficult and important problems an organization is confronted with. For Anders, contributing to adding value in these situations are hugely satisfying:
“You get to contribute at a very early stage in BCG because you e.g. are included in very senior discussions with executive management in leading companies. You really have the chance to change the trajectory of an organization. That is something you do not get to do many other places.’’
Anders goes on to mention how important it is to him what kind of people he gets to work with. He emphasizes how the people at BCG in Copenhagen are all extremely talented, and how being a part of a team with so many diverse and interesting people is very satisfying to him.
According to Anders the challenges he encounters change over time. When he started at BCG, his main challenges were that the problems they solve are very important, but also very difficult:
“I think that intellectually, being able to solve the problems is not an easy task, but that is also what continues to be exciting about the job. The fact that everyday matters, so to speak.”
“Intellectually, being able to solve the problems is not an easy task, but that is also, what continues to be exciting about the job.”
This implies that you need to be at your best and crack difficult problems and that is a challenge, but exciting he explains. Furthermore, projects can last a couple of months and then you are on to something else. This means that you mentally need to be prepared to take on different topics and different problems at a high pace according to Anders. He says:
“I think in the beginning, for me at least, the pace and the difficult problem solving, that I needed to confront every day was something that I had to get used to, but it was a challenge that I happily took on and now it is my main driver.”
We asked Anders in what ways he thought Polit Case Competition prepares students for a future career in the consulting business:
“By joining Polit Case Competition you get a short, but a very realistic introduction to what it means to be a consultant. You need to team up and bring your capabilities to the front line in a relatively short period.”
To what students should expect from participating in the workshop with BCG, he answered:
“We hope to showcase the wide range of areas you get to work with and touch upon as a consultant here at BCG. Students can expect to experience a steep learning curve, gaining valuable information about the skills you need to master to solve a difficult case. Finally, students can expect to grow through the lessons that will be taught, the insight that will be given and from the interesting like-minded people they will meet.”