[3] Bürkner began his career in corporate finance at Commerzbank, and joined BCG in 1981 while it was a predominantly U.S.-focused consulting firm.

He credited much of his inspiration and business approach to Tom Lewis, a principal at the firm at the time.

Under his leadership, BCG had grown from 4,500 employees to more than 15,000, and he had overseen the opening of twenty new offices around the world, doubling the size of the firm's partner group.

The firm's partners elected Rich Lesser to begin a three-year term effective January 1, 2013.

[5] Today, Bürkner travels extensively in the 46 countries in which BCG operates in order to support key clients and teams.