Mark joined Bain London in September 2000, immediately after university, as an Associate Consultant and has stayed with the company ever since. He has been promoted three times since he joined, to senior associate consultant in December 2002, to consultant in March 2004, and to manager in January 2007. He is currently based in the Sydney office.
The cases experiences Mark has been exposed to have been broad, both in terms of industries and roles. He has spent time doing anything from corporate strategy for major FTSE 100 companies, down to marketing and brand management for privately owned businesses, in industries as varied as retail or whisky to aerospace or energy.
Diversity of experiences
"Bain continues to be a great experience and learning opportunity for me and I really value the fact that everyday will be different. I really enjoy that I am constantly taking on new challenges and being exposed to new opportunities."
Transfer experience
"A definite highlight has been my transfer to the Sydney office. While not only enabling me to see a fantastic country, it gave me the chance to work in a different culture. While the nature of work we do is similar whatever office you are in, working hand in hand with the clients on a day to day basis really helps to make a difference."
"I have also been lucky enough to benefit from the flexibility offered by Bain and was able to take 2 months leave of absence after my transfer to travel before starting back at Bain London. The ability to take time out like this is invaluable and was thoroughly enjoyed."
Career goals
"Longer term I see myself running my own business and the experience I have been able to gather while at Bain, especially when straight out of university, has been phenomenal and should stand me in good stead for the future."
People & culture
"One of the great features of the Bain culture is the strong links that develop with those people in your peer group. I was fortunate to start with a group of about 30 fellow ACs and the support and friendships that I have developed through this peer group are very strong. These people are your first port of call for help and advice and can prove to be an invaluable network of friends, both inside and outside work."
Professional development and mentoring
"While professional development at Bain is exceptional with constant global training programs in exotic locations such as Cape Cod, Cancun, Phuket the single biggest factor that has helped me progress is the mentoring system that is in place at Bain. Everyone is assigned a mentor who looks after your professional development and is there for any concerns you may have. My mentor has been great at helping me through my time at Bain, both in terms of short term case experience, and longer term career planning."
Project experiences
"One of my most enjoyable case experiences was on a whisky case. My role was to layout the full potential sales plan for a number of brands that the company owned. Profiling international whisky markets and understanding approaches to distribution and advertising across very diverse markets was great, and resulted in me presenting my work direct to the CEO. Getting this high level exposure was invaluable and will be something I always remember."
Application tips
"The biggest single tip for the application process is practice, practice, practice. The interviews are heavily case study based and so the more practice you can get at these the better. There are a number of examples on the Bain website, and others on the Net. Read though these and it should give you a good start."
