Anthony Ferraro

Share your journey to Bain.

My journey to Bain was a bit of a whirlwind. I studied engineering and law as an undergraduate, tried both, and quickly realized I didn’t want to pursue either as a career. While at university, I started an e-commerce business and found myself really enjoying the process of thinking about how businesses work.

That interest, combined with my naturally restless energy, led a friend to suggest consulting. It sounded perfect—working directly with businesses, solving new problems every day, across different clients and industries. I’ve been hooked ever since.

How did you know that Bain was the right company for you?

What stood out most during recruiting was how much I resonated with the people I met. They shared their own stories openly and showed a genuine interest in mine. I’m a social person, and in professional services, I believe that enjoying the people you work with each day is critical to long-term sustainability and job satisfaction.

I was also really impressed by how deeply Bain invests in its people. From in-office trainings and formal mentorship programs to global training sessions with peers, it was clear Bain understood that its people are the business, and that they need to be supported and nurtured.

Share some of your favorite work (personal or professional) you’ve done while at Bain.

I’ve been fortunate to have a broad range of experiences at Bain, and some of my favorite projects have been in very different industries.

One highlight was working with a major bank to build a customer segment strategy from the ground up. We used primary customer research to understand customer types, needs, and behaviors, and then designed a compelling proposition and operating model to serve them. It was amazing to see our work become a core pillar of their business, continuing to evolve over time.

Another memorable experience was a performance improvement project for a mining client on a remote island in Papua New Guinea. The site was logistically challenging, lots of rain, soft ground, and they were falling behind production targets. However, the level of collaboration was incredible, and being in a place I’d never otherwise visit made it especially unique.

Lastly, I worked with a quick service restaurant in the retail space. Learning how the business operates, how the food and recipes are created, was a fascinating and novel experience. Our team even became cheese experts (an essential life skill!).

What is the culture of the Sydney office?

The Sydney office (and the Australian offices more broadly) have an awesome culture. We’re big enough to have high-energy gatherings at off-sites and promotion parties, but small enough that we still know each other well, like a close-knit community.

After a week of travel, WFH, or being on-site with clients, Fridays in the office are always a highlight. It’s great to catch up, share laughs, and unwind with food and drinks.

We also have a ton of events sponsored by our fun committee and diversity groups, from coffee carts and waffle mornings, to firm lunches and celebrations like Diwali and Lunar New Year. There’s a real buzz throughout the year.

How has Bain supported me to Be More?

I feel like I can bring my full self to work at Bain. I remember having a conversation with a senior partner who showed a genuine interest in my passion for sneakers and street-wear, and sharing his own stories about building a small business in the past. It felt like there is an implicit celebration of the journeys we all have, which in their own way are unique, but can also be a common link between colleagues, no matter the difference in tenure.

It's also great that Bain respects the flexibility of working in a post-COVID world - from having open conversations around travel flexibility and family commitments, to WFH norms (and embedding these formally in our case "sustainability" scores). They also encourage you to expand your skills through various training programs and "learn and explore" support away from the job itself.

Bain also really respects the flexibility of working in a post-COVID world. Whether it's having transparent conversations about travel and family commitments, or embedding hybrid norms into case sustainability scores, it’s clear that well being is taken seriously.

Do you have any work or a project that allowed you to Build at Bain? What was it and why was it so impactful? What are you most proud of about this work/project?

On one project, I worked with a colleague from our Advanced Analytics team to help a bank revamp its lead allocation process. At the time, leads were being sent out in large, unprioritized batches.
 
Together, we built a proof-of-concept that used historical performance data to match leads to bankers based on their strengths, ensuring the best leads went to the most effective bankers. Within four weeks, we saw a 30%+ increase in conversion rates. The client was so impressed they committed to building a production-ready version in their enterprise systems. It was a proud moment, seeing tangible impact and knowing we built something that would last.