I have always liked the global dimension of business, and working at BCG has enabled me to explore many new horizons. I was a founder participant in our Ambassador program in 1991, spending one year in the Paris office. I then moved to Asia, opened our Singapore Office in 1995 and became leader of the Australia/New Zealand Practice in 2003. It's a big challenge dealing with different languages and cultures, but so important given how the world has globalised.

BCG has also given me the freedom to pursue my other passion–technology. In 2000 I left BCG for three years to become MD and founder member of iFormation, where I focused on technology business builds. Technology is changing the way we think about most aspects of our world, and I enjoy helping clients make the most out of this.

Diverse case opportunities are the reality at BCG.  In my two years with the firm, I have followed my passion for the public sector by working across a range of portfolios including justice, education and social welfare.  I’ve also had a healthy dose of private sector experience, including a brain-crunching analytical piece for one of Australia's largest banks.  And I’ve recently returned from a two-month stay in our Copenhagen office, helping to build our public sector practice globally.

I don’t know what’s next for me at BCG, but that’s half the fun. I do know that I have all the support I need. Right now I am discussing some options with my mentor – they include business school, a public policy degree, a six-month secondment to government, or working for a while in our Middle East offices.

A global career and international travel have always appealed; they were key reasons I chose BCG. On joining I got involved with some major local cases and, though I was happy to be influencing large clients, I still really wanted to travel. Then in 2008, supported by my career mentor and our staffing manager, I started to travel.

Since then I haven’t looked back: three months sweltering in Singapore’s heat, 12 months down the pub in London and three months ‘on safari’ in Johannesburg.  BCG has opened doors I’d never dreamed of. I’ve worked on more continents than I’ve had years of post grad experience (this counts Singapore as Asia and the UK as Europe even though they’re islands). And, just in case you’re curious, I’m not done yet!

I joined BCG in 1999 as an associate. I had a background in organizational psychology and immediately gravitated towards projects related to people and organizational issues. This functional expertise opened up a lot of doors—it connected me to the network of organizational experts and enabled me to build a profile in the Organisation practice globally.

My specific expertise also provided me with opportunities to work in a range of different countries. As a consultant, I took a year out from BCG and worked for the International Federation of Red Cross in Geneva. Upon my return, I completed a doctorate in psychology. During this time I took advantage of a variety of part-time models to enable me to complete my studies—BCG was very supportive of these varying work arrangements.

After the birth of my daughter, I became the global manager of the Organization practice. While this is a non-client facing role, it enables me to spend time with my family and still do challenging, intellectually stimulating work.

In a firm like BCG, there are a range of career pathways. If you demonstrate value, BCG will return it to you twofold.

Fiona is a registered psychologist and has a doctorate of organizational psychology from the University of Melbourne.

Prior to joining BCG, Fiona worked for the Department of Education in Victoria. In 2002, she was seconded to the International Red Cross in Geneva.

I joined BCG thinking I’d forsaken my lifelong interest in science. My first case, however, was to design a healthcare strategy for an underdeveloped region of Malaysia. We focused on institutions ranging from tertiary hospitals to nursing homes. Later, I worked on cases in renewable energy and life sciences. Coming from the lab bench, it was exciting to navigate the business-end of science.

BCG has given me opportunities to explore my interests in new ways: to create a unique career path and work with people from around the world. Interesting cases, people, and places—they’re all there.

Nadiah graduated with an AB in biochemical sciences from Harvard and joined BCG Kuala Lumpur in 2007.

Before BCG, she worked at Children’s Hospital Boston as a virology researcher.