He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar, and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan.

[5] It is claimed he played a pivotal role in helping BCG become the only global management consulting firm to grow strongly through the 2008 recession.

[7] In May 2012, he was elected the successor of Hans-Paul Bürkner as the Global Chief Executive Officer of Boston Consulting Group.

[8] Under his leadership, BCG more than doubled in size to over 22,000 employees and tripled in revenue, fueled by investments in new offices, digital and analytics, and capabilities to drive innovation and transformation.

[5] In December 2016, Lesser joined a business forum assembled by then president-elect Donald Trump to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues.