Tom De Waele

Tom De Waele, based in London, is the managing partner of Bain’s Europe, Middle-East & Africa (EMEA) business. He is responsible for shaping the strategy and leading the operations of our EMEA offices, eight industrial practices, and six centers of competence across EMEA. He oversees the deployment of our plans, coordinates our regional activities and inspires our leadership and people to deliver enduring and sustainable results for our clients.    

Before assuming his current role in January 2026, Tom spent 6 years as managing partner for Bain’s Middle East business.

He is also a member of our Financial Services and Private Equity practices. He is also a leader in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Customer Strategy & Marketing practices for the Middle East.

Mr. De Waele has worked with leading financial services players across all key Middle Eastern markets on topics such as growth strategy, M&A with a focus on post-merger integration, digital transformation, distribution, customer experience (including Net Promoter Score) and loyalty, cost optimization and operating model. His experience spans all sub-sectors of financial services and all key customer segments.

He has also advised some of the largest financial investors in the Middle East mainly on 'top of the house' topics such as fund and sector strategy, investment process, ESG/path to net zero and international expansion, and has also supported global private equity investors navigate their growth and partnership strategy for the Middle East.

Prior to joining the Middle East office, Mr. De Waele was involved in a number of large post-acquisition transformations of private equity-owned companies across Europe.

He holds a Master of Engineering from the University of Antwerp, Belgium (magna cum laude) and an MBA from INSEAD.