Sarah Elk
Partner, Chicago
Operating model and retail expert with a proven track record in implementing transformations for large-scale multinational clients.
About Sarah
Expertise
Highlights
- Global leader of our Operating Model practice
- Author of Doing Agile Right
- Member of our global governance committee for compensation and promotion
Sarah Elk is a partner and the global leader of our Operating Model practice, as well as a core member of our Retail practice. She is based in Chicago.
With more than 20 years of consulting experience, Sarah is passionate about transforming large companies, especially those experiencing technology or business model disruption. She has deep transformation experience at the intersection of organization, Agile, performance improvement, leadership and change management.
Throughout her career, Sarah has advised business leaders across a wide range of industries, including retail, technology, healthcare, consumer products, automotive and aerospace and defense. Her client portfolio includes several Fortune 50 companies.
Sarah is the author of Doing Agile Right, published by the HBR Press in 2020. She is also a member of our global governance committee for compensation and promotion.
Sarah began her career at Merck & Co., Inc., after earning her BS in environmental engineering from Northwestern University. She also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
She has five children, loves wine and believes in possibility.
Bain Partner Sarah Elk discusses the six questions leadership teams should ask themselves at the 12- to 24-month mark of transformations.
Recent Insights
- “Develop Agility That Outlasts the Pandemic,” HBR.org, May 2020, Article
- “The Agile C-Suite,” Harvard Business Review, April 2020, Article
- “Davos 2020: Bain Breakfast on Doing Agile Right,” Video, January 2020
- “Davos 2020: Reflections on Doing Agile Right,” Video, January 2020
- “Effecting Cultural Change through Zero-based Budgeting,” Managing Change Blog, May 2018, Article