BAIN & COMPANY’S KARA GRUVER NAMED TO CONSULTING MAGAZINE’S 2017 “TOP 25 CONSULTANTS” LIST

New York – May 8, 2017 – Kara Gruver, managing director of Bain & Company’s Boston office – the firm’s headquarters, its largest office worldwide, and home to many of its global and regional practice heads – has been recognized by Consulting magazine as one of its “Top 25 Consultants” for 2017 in the category of Excellence in Leadership.

Since taking the helm of Bain Boston in 2012, Gruver has focused on growing the firm’s priority clients and partnering with them to build new capabilities. The result: the office’s growth has outpaced the firm’s global growth by 2:1 for the last three years. Bain Boston also ranked in the top three for employee satisfaction for the fifth consecutive year, per the firm’s 2016 Worldwide Employee Survey.

Gruver has played a key part in shaping Bain Boston’s distinct culture, making significant strides over the last year in further increasing the office’s diversity. In 2016, the proportion of female managers in the Boston office reached an all-time high of 45 percent due in part to Gruver’s focus on ensuring that women comprise approximately half of each incoming consultant and associate consultant class and that each woman is matched with a sponsor invested in helping her advance. Gruver also continues to broaden the scope of the office’s hiring, tapping resources from other non-traditional consulting industry sources, as well as increasing advanced degree and industry hires.

“I have had the pleasure of working alongside Kara for many years. In that time, I have personally seen the impact she has on the firm, the difference she has made in developing a truly talented team of people, and the outstanding results she has delivered for her clients,” said Bill Neuenfeldt, Bain’s regional managing director of the Americas, “She embodies the best of Bain, and I am thrilled that the industry is honoring her accomplishments.”

In her client-facing role, Gruver has spent more than a decade advising leading consumer products and retail companies. This includes three years as head of Bain’s North American Consumer Products Practice, which she grew at twice the rate of the Americas overall business.

Gruver is a strategic business advisor to her clients supporting them on a wide range of issues including corporate strategy, pricing and trade strategy, M&A, innovation, supply chain restructuring, and organizational effectiveness. She also has deep expertise in operating models, decision effectiveness, and innovation.

Gruver joined Bain in 1986 and in 1992 became one of the founding members of the firm’s Chicago office. There, she spent three years investing in the local clients and growing the team from three to 50 people, firmly establishing Bain’s presence in Chicago and across the Midwest.

With many diverse leadership successes under her belt, Gruver was a natural fit to be appointed to the Bain Board of Directors in 2015. She also served on the firm’s global compensation and promotion committee from 2009-2012.

“This recognition from Consulting magazine is truly humbling. I consider myself lucky to be surrounded by a rich intellectual environment that allows me to take on new and different challenges every day,” said Gruver. “However, solving these problems wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if I couldn’t engage with and learn from my Bain colleagues and clients, who are the most enjoyable part of my job. They have made Bain an industry leader and a great place to work, and I’m pleased to share this award with all of them.”

Gruver earned her MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia, where she was selected a Shermet Scholar. She graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in computer science.

Gruver and the fellow honorees will be recognized at a dinner on June 15 in New York City. Coverage of the honorees and the event appears in Consulting magazine’s May issue (www.consultingmag.com). Consulting is published by ALM, a global leader in specialized industry news and information.

Editor’s Note: To arrange an interview with Ms. Gruver, please contact Dan Pinkney at dan.pinkney@bain.com or +1 646 562 8102.

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