Arata Tanno

Share your journey to Bain.

After graduating from my university, I joined Deloitte Tohmatsu Tokyo office, where I worked as a CPA for ~2.5 years, auditing to major financial institutions. Subsequently, I transitioned to EY, where I spent ~5 years as an M&A consultant, specializing in post-merger integration (PMI) and carve-out projects, mainly handling project management works. After that, I earned my MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Since joining Bain in 2022, I have primarily been involved with the Private Equity Group (PEG), concentrating on due diligence and post-acquisition value creation projects.

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

In my previous company as a consultant, the moments when clients personally thanked me were incredibly fulfilling and truly the highlights of my professional life. This was a key factor to continue my career as a consultant after earning my MBA. Among many consulting firms, I was particularly drawn to Bain because I perceived it as an environment where I could tackle high-level strategic issues at the CxO level and engage in projects with significant impact in the business world. Additionally, throughout the selection process, I was impressed by the individuals I met; they were not only intellectually sharp but also approachable and supportive, which I found highly appealing.

Do you feel like you can do impactful work at Bain? What opportunities excite you?

In the beginning of my career at Bain, I struggled to keep up with my team members and couldn't envision how to contribute to the entire project. However, during a value-up project for a major Japanese corporation, I had the opportunity to directly support the growth of a company acquired by a large global fund. This experience allowed me to see firsthand how our work translated into tangible results. Since then, even when conducting due diligence, I have become more conscious of the growth potential and impact that we can achieve post-acquisition.

Also, it may sound cliché, but there is a unique sense of accomplishment when the projects I've worked on are later featured in the news.

“Build Your Own Bain” means creating a thriving career on your own terms. How have you been able to “Build Your Own Bain?”

As mentioned earlier, when I first joined Bain, I struggled to keep up. However, Bain offers an environment that thoroughly supports individual career development, and I have experienced significant growth as a result. The firm's strong "Professional Development (PD)" culture is designed to aid everyone in their growth, creating a setting where you can seek guidance from colleagues even if you haven't worked on a project with them directly. During my early days at Bain, I frequently sought advice from senior colleagues, particularly those who had also graduated with an MBA, to understand how they managed to catch up and excel. I believe that Bain's thriving diverse community owes much of its success to this deeply ingrained PD culture. While focusing on my own professional development is a given, I am also committed to supporting my colleagues in any way I can, thereby contributing to the office's overall success.

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

At Bain, we share the common value known as "True North," which emphasizes the importance of recommending and implementing what truly needs to be done for our clients, rather than simply catering to their preferences. In due diligence (DD) projects, clients often have a tendency to focus on the positive aspects of the target company. However, Bain is committed to conducting an impartial assessment of the target company's growth potential and providing objective recommendations to the client.

On one particular project, the client ultimately decided to withdraw from the deal, and I thought that decision was a testament to our team's adherence to the "True North" philosophy. We were able to confidently present our neutral and carefully evaluated findings, enabling the client to make an informed choice.