Insights for the Next Generation of CEOs

This week, we’re bringing you a special edition of Up Next—an interview we conducted with BCG’s CEO Christoph Schweizer about his own 27-year career at the firm and lessons he’s learned.??

BCG: Many leaders aspire to one day advance to the C-suite, and hearing about your experience?could be incredibly valuable for them. Can you describe your journey to becoming BCG’s CEO and some of the challenges?you’ve faced and overcome in your career??

Christoph Schweizer: I started as a summer associate in 1996 in BCG’s Munich office when I was still an undergraduate. I loved the work, so I was thrilled when I got the offer to join BCG full time the next year. Over the years, I started focusing more of my work in the health care sector and was elected managing director and partner. Since then, I’ve led BCG’s global Health Care practice, BCG’s overall practice area organization, the “Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East” region, and then, in 2021, I became CEO.??

So many challenges along the way! A big one that comes to mind was when, after ten years in Munich, I had the chance to transfer to BCG’s New York office. That sounds like a wonderful opportunity, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. It was 2007. I had just become a managing director and partner, upended my life to make the move, and the financial crisis hit. My client work essentially disappeared. I stuck with it, though, teamed with my colleagues in creative ways, and brought new ideas to my clients. That persistence, innovation—and ultimately teamwork—eventually paid off. My five years in New York ended up being such a valuable part of my career journey and certainly a defining challenge.?

In the age of predictive AI and generative AI, we’re looking at a fundamental shift in how people work?together and how they work with technology. What should today’s leaders prioritize when grappling with AI? ?

The truth is we have yet to grasp the full potential of AI. As I look ahead to the enormous opportunities this technology will offer, I rely on BCG’s “10-20-70 framework” for AI and tech transformations: 10% of leaders’ focus should be on models (such as LLMs) and predictive algorithms; 20% on data and the technological backbone that’s needed; and 70% on people, processes, skills, incentives, and culture. That’s how we’re approaching our own GenAI transformation at BCG—investing significantly to create and roll out GenAI tools for all our staff and deploying an ecosystem of training and upskilling that includes formal and virtual trainings, team coaches, and one-one-one reverse mentorship with our “superusers.”??

In other words, we can have the most sophisticated models in the world, but if we don’t learn how to use these technologies in the right way, we will not generate and capture value. We know it’s not just whether companies are using AI—but how.???

The only certainty in today’s fast-paced world is uncertainty, and issues like climate change,?inflation, and generative AI are accelerating the rate of change. What should CEOs rely on to navigate this reality???

Having a strong sense of empathy will carry you a long way. You can achieve a lot by being the smartest person in the room, but you will always be limited if you can’t find a way to relate to the people around you. Empathy is the key to motivating your teams and steering them through difficult times.???

As both Millennials and Gen-Z advance to?more senior leadership roles in their careers, what can they do to prepare for an uncertain world??

I have a lot of faith in the next generation of leaders. They are digital and AI natives, have a powerful understanding of the challenges of climate and sustainability, and seem to have a much more global outlook. We’ll be in good hands.?If I had one piece of advice, it’d be to ensure you are looking beyond your day-to-day and injecting some serendipity into what you are learning and absorbing. If we don’t deliberately set aside time to look beyond the urgent and expand our view, there is a risk that our ideas all revert to the mean. Some of the most impressive leaders I’ve met work hard to read widely, engage in new experiences, and learn permanently.?

What’s the best decision you made when you started as CEO that new or aspiring CEOs could benefit from hearing about???

Adam Grant writes about the importance of building a “challenge network” for yourself. So instead of surrounding yourself with people who will agree with you, build a team of people you trust who will push you to do your best and show you your blind spots. I built my own “challenge network” going into the role—the best decision I could have made.?

The gap between what you know and what you need to know to run a large, global company is enormous, and there’s no perfect roadmap that will get you there. But because I’ve had the right team, always willing to offer diverse points of view, the challenges have been less overwhelming and the learning curve incredibly steep.????

Interested in growing as a leader? Consider these top reads.

• Beware the CEO Bubble
• The Rewards of CEO Reflection
• How CEOs Define Vulnerability—and Benefit from It
• Good Vibrations: The CEO’s Practical Guide to Create and Amplify Energy
• Think Again by Adam Grant

Check out the Weekly Brief for more insights from Christoph Schweizer, BCG’s CEO.