Cesare R.G. Mainardi

Cesare R. Mainardi is a business strategy author, professor, and the former Chief Executive Officer of global management consultancy Booz & Company.

He is the principal architect of an intuitive and highly effective approach to corporate strategy known as Capabilities-Driven Strategy. He has coauthored three books on the subject, all published by Harvard Business Review Press: Strategy That Works: How Winning Companies Close the Strategy-to-Execution Gap (2016), The Essential Advantage: How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy (2010), and Cut Costs and Grow Stronger (2009). He has authored many articles on management and strategy in leading global publications and is a member of The Wall Street Journal’s experts panel of industry and thought leaders.

Mr. Mainardi held many senior leadership positions with Booz Allen Hamilton and Booz & Company during his 30 years as a management consultant. At Booz Allen he spearheaded a major turnaround, enabling a successful sale of the government business to the Carlyle Group for $2.54 billion and the spin-off of the global commercial business in 2008. He was elected global CEO of that enterprise in April 2012 and served in the role until July 2015. As CEO he crafted a bold strategy to create the world’s leading strategy-to-execution firm by combining with PwC. The deal was completed in April 2014 and marked a milestone in the evolution of the professional services industry.

He is a longstanding Adjunct Professor of Strategy at the Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Mainardi attended Northwestern University and earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering, a Master’s degree in manufacturing engineering, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.