BAIN & COMPANY TAPS ANALYTICS EXPERT CHRIS BRAHM TO LEAD GLOBAL ADVANCED ANALYTICS PRACTICE THROUGH NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH

New York — November 10, 2016 — Bain & Company, the global business and management consultancy, has named Chris Brahm to lead the firm’s global Advanced Analytics Practice. His appointment was announced by Bob Bechek, Bain’s worldwide managing director. Brahm will continue to be based in the firm’s San Francisco office.

Demand for expertise in advanced analytics across nearly every industry sector has increased in recent years as companies begin to understand the strategic business benefits of this capability. Yet, according to Bain’s experience and research, only about 4 percent of companies have the right tools, people and expertise in place to fully capture the value of big data and capitalize on the opportunities it offers.

Advanced analytics is a firm-wide priority at Bain, which has since its inception sought to bring the most innovative analytic capabilities to clients in service of breakthrough results. Bain takes a distinct approach to big data and analytics, viewing them as much more than technology initiatives, but as core business practices. In addition to providing deep technical expertise, Bain helps clients embed advanced analytic capabilities within the appropriate strategic, operational, and organizational context, moving beyond data science experiments to hard-nosed business results.

In the past two years, the percentage of Bain cases with an advanced analytics component has more than tripled – fueled by an in-house team of data scientists, word-class business analytics talent and an ecosystem of partnerships – and the firm’s clients are seeing significant results. For example, Bain’s Test & Learn platform has helped dozens of clients boost marketing return by up to 2 to 4 times. Its Assortment Analyzer approach has enabled several retail and consumer products companies to boost revenue by 2 to 3 percent in flat growth categories while simplifying their product portfolios. In addition to delivering results, the firm’s collaborative approach to advanced analytics is focused on building sustainable talent and technical capabilities. Bain is not just providing analytic insight – “feeding with fish” – but leaving behind the enduring capability to enable the client to “learn to fish on their own” with advanced analytics.

“Chris has been a true pioneer in the big data analytics field and is an ideal choice to help our firm and our clients realize the full potential that advanced analytics offers,” said Bechek. “His experience and leadership undoubtedly will prove invaluable as we work to design advanced analytics solutions – both strategic and technological – that are increasingly integral to helping our clients achieve meaningful value for both their customers and them.”

As head of the Advanced Analytics Practice, Brahm will play a lead role in both spearheading client support and fostering innovation in the practice, as well as supporting the development and enablement of Bain’s 7,000 analysts.

“I’m thrilled to take on the exciting challenge of guiding the growth of Bain’s Advanced Analytics Practice,” said Brahm. “We have an outstanding team of analysts and data scientists throughout the firm, and I am honored to work with them to further build on our leadership in this field. Advanced analytics are changing business and society. Bain has a unique opportunity to further lead in that change and help clients and broader communities realize the full potential of that opportunity.”

Brahm has nearly 30 years of experience in the technology sector. He was an early leader in the field of workforce advanced analytics, co-founding and serving as chairman for VoloMetrix, an advanced workforce analytics software company, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2015.

Most recently, Brahm, who joined the firm in 1986, was head of Bain’s Technology Practice in the Americas, specializing in advanced strategic, operational, organizational, and financial analytics. He has also worked closely with Bain’s Digital, Media and Telecommunications Practices.

Brahm is the author or co-author of several articles on advanced analytics, including, “Big Data for Customer Loyalty? Don't Forget the Humans,” which was published on Forbes.com and “Your Scarcest Resource,” which was published in the Harvard Business Review.

Editor’s note: For an interview or photograph, please contact Dan Pinkney via email: dan.pinkney@bain.com or (646) 562-8102.

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