Strategy Bites

Wendy is a Managing Director of Pollination and she was previously a Managing Director and Partner in BCG's Sydney office.  At BCG, Wendy worked in Financial Services & Insurance and also led BCG's Social Impact, Climate and Sustainability work in Australia and New Zealand.  Wendy talks to me about working in ESG and what types of projects she was doing at BCG and now at Pollination. She has always been passionate about working on Social Impact, Climate and Sustainability projects and gives some great advice to other consultants wanting to focus their careers in this space.

Aliza Knox was the first Female partner at BCG in Asia and has been dubbed a “kick-ass woman slaying the world of tech”. Aliza was also listed as a Top 100 Women in Tech (Singapore, 2021), has been named the IT Woman of the Year (Asia, 2020), honored as the AWA Singapore International Business Woman of the Year (2015), elected to Chief Executive Women (Australia, 2016) and featured in the book Women on Board—Making a Real Difference. Aliza speaks to me about her amazing career journey from BCG to Tech and now to her roles on multiple boards. We talk about mentorship, women in leadership, having a career whilst having a family, and Aliza gives some amazing advice to other up and coming, driven consultants. Aliza is also a best selling Author and her book “ Don’t quit your day job” was written as a way to mentor the masses.   Link to book : https://www.amazon.com.au/Dont-Quit-Your-Day-Job/dp/0730396592 Link to Aliza’s book recommendation : Radical Candor by Kim Scott https://www.amazon.com.au/Radical-Candor-Revised-Updated-Saying/dp/1529038340/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19E46FX6XOQP7&keywords=radical+candor+by+kim+scott&qid=1693784068&s=books&sprefix=radical+candor%2Cstripbooks%2C312&sr=1-1

In this engaging conversation, Anna Podolsky, CEO and founder of Lyka, shares her inspiring journey from Bain consultant to pet food entrepreneur. She discusses the challenges of rapidly scaling a startup and the importance of customer feedback in achieving success. Anna reflects on her commitment to pet nutrition, revealing the impact of high-quality ingredients. She also touches on the critical mindset shift needed for entrepreneurship and shares heartwarming stories about the positive transformations in pet health thanks to her products.

Milosh Milisavljevic, Chief Customer Officer at Medibank and McKinsey alumni has been a go to mentor to many an ex consultant, helping them work through the trade-offs and options of moving from consulting into corporates, and then growing and developing in a corporate role once they make the move. We discuss what the high achievers in corporates who came from consulting did differently. Milosh gives some solid advice for those hoping to thrive in a corporate environment and shares some of the best advice he has been given over the years.   His book recommendations : Effortless – Greg McKeown Lost Connections – Johann Hari Bitter Sweet – Susan Cain No Rules Rules – Reed Hastings

Sophie Hayek, CEO of PropHero and Roland Berger Alumni talks to me about her experience moving from France to Australia to join Woolies Group Strategy, why she moved to NBN, and what she feels were the skills that helped her climb the ladder in a Corporate. We discuss her motivations to move into a Tech- Start-Up and the skills necessary to be a CEO of a Scale-Up. She gives some great advice to management consultants thinking about their careers in both corporates and start-ups.

In this episode I am joined by my esteemed colleague Asha Walsh who specialises in recruiting roles at Manager to Head of level roles in Strategy. We discuss the market and what we are encountering currently in our sector. Asha also gives some excellent advice to any junior to mid-level strategy candidates considering a job search.

In this episode, I chat with Steve Duke, who left McKinsey at the Consultant level to help grow two Unicorns at a young age. He shares his story of transitioning from consulting to tech startup life. After being let go from the last start-up Steve went on a journey of personal discovery and talks about his quest for career enlightenment. This led him to become a fellow podcaster, he is currently the Host of the podcast Two Roads aimed at helping people find meaning in their work and life. In this episode, we exchange learnings from our interviews with our guests on this topic. Link to Two Roads Podcast here: https://stephenduke8.podbean.com/

Join me as I chat with Katrina Barry, the CEO of Me&u - a technology company that is transforming the hospitality industry. In this episode, Katrina shares her personal journey and life experiences, going from a country girl in New Zealand to McKinsey and on to exciting roles in a variety of sectors from Finance to Fitness, Travel to Tech. She candidly discusses the challenges she has faced on her journey as well as her victories. Katrina shares how she has thought about the career decisions she has made, and shares the best advice she has been given along the way, as well as lots of hints and tips for aspiring consultants regarding how to make decisions on the opportunities that come their way.

Victors’ 2nd appearance on the podcast! In this episode, we deep dive into : The importance of case interview prep How to be a good case interviewer to attract the best candidates The importance of humility How to harness unshakable self-esteem and more.... Links to information referenced in the podcast https://caseinterview.com/ “Look” Over My Shoulder https://www.caseinterview.com/look-over-my-shoulder How to Develop Gravitas https://www.caseinterview.com/gravitas How to Sell Your Ideas in Everyday Life https://www.caseinterview.com/how-to-sell How to Develop Your Emotional Intelligence (EQ) to Advance Your Career https://www.caseinterview.com/eq-development   How to Develop Unshakeable Self-Esteem & Incredible Self-Confidence https://www.caseinterview.com/self-esteem Book recommendation - Richistan by Robert Frank https://ig.ft.com/sites/business-book-award/books/2007/longlist/richistan-by-robert-frank/

Ex BCG Principal Josh Taylor has worked and lived all over the world. He is now an Aussie who has settled in Dallas (for now)! He shares his experience of traveling with BCG to different continents and gives his best advice to those considering an international career now that travel is back on the cards.