Beyond the Bio Podcast
Sarah Elk’s journey is defined by curiosity, adaptability, and a passion for driving meaningful change. Raised in a small Iowa town, she pursued environmental engineering at Northwestern before launching her career in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Realizing a need for faster-paced, more impactful work, she earned her MBA from Stanford and eventually found her way to Bain after working at another consulting firm.
At Bain, Sarah held leadership roles across multiple industries including technology, industrials, retail, and energy, while consistently focusing on large-scale transformation. Her leadership in Bain’s People and Organization practice and work on governance committees deepened her influence. She's also co-authored the book, Doing Agile Right: Transformation without Chaos, with previous podcast guest, Steve Berez.
Now leading Bain’s AI, Insights, and Solutions practice in the Americas, Sarah focuses on embedding AI into core business strategy rather than treating it as a separate initiative. She stresses the importance of moving from fragmented innovation efforts to coordinated, scalable change that aligns people, processes, and data. Sarah encourages companies to take practical first steps in adopting AI, modernize their data governance, and focus on value creation over cost reduction. She also champions multidisciplinary teams and shares how tech professional work side by side with consultants in solving complex, industry-shaping problems.
Beyond the Bio Podcast
In Beyond the Bio, Keith Bevans, partner and global head of consultant recruiting, dives deeper into the stories of some extraordinary Bain people, from their perspectives.
Published in June 2025
