How did you end up working at Bain?
I studied civil engineering and during that time, was an intern at an industrial engineering firm where I was able to work on business strategy and marketing intelligence. This was the first indication that strategy consulting would be a good fit for me.
Back then, I didn’t know anything about Bain, but I joined a Bain recruiting event at my home university and that opportunity resonated a lot with my ambitions. I studied hard, applied for the associate consultant role, and here I am!
How have you felt supported?
The Women at Bain team, especially the leadership team, has been extremely important in my journey, especially when I became a mom. I found incredible women who showed by example that you can reconcile motherhood with having an exciting and impactful career. I saw that it was possible.
How has it been changing roles?
I’ve been at Bain for five years now and had a few transitions. I did a regional transfer to the Washington, DC office while I was a senior associate consultant and that was one of my best experiences at Bain. Then, when I was promoted to general consultant, I learned about it just days before my daughter was born. I was able to take an extended maternity leave for eight months and come back as a consultant. I believe I was the youngest woman in Bain’s South America region to be a consultant and a mother.
I recently made another transition from general consulting to Bain’s corporate development team. Several people supported me in that effort, including our local HR director, the corporate development EVP, my advisors, and several informal mentors I have at Bain. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I’m glad Bain was able to accommodate what mattered to me the most during this time, which is being close to my daughter and my support network, while working fully remote from my hometown.
What project are you proudest of?
The most special and impactful project I’ve been part of so far was the Spike SpA acquisition by Bain South America. It was Bain’s first acquisition in the region and I was part of it from the screening through to integration. We bought a firm of 35 people who joined our Advanced Analytics Group and it had a big, positive impact in terms of our expertise, for our clients, and our culture.
Any advice for others?
There is space for you at Bain and the universe of options is humongous. If you are open to exploring different opportunities, to get to know people and learn new things, you will find your way—or “find your Bain,” as we like to say.
