Cesare Mainardi

Cesare R. Mainardi is Chief Executive Officer of Booz & Company and has been a partner of the firm since 1993, having joined the Cleveland office in 1986 after graduate school. Prior to his election as CEO in April 2012, he served as Chief Operating Officer of the firm and Managing Director of its North American business. In his 26 years with the firm, Mr. Mainardi has worked with several of the world’s largest companies to help them identify and build the essential capabilities they need to outperform over time.

Based on these experiences, Mr. Mainardi has been a principal architect of the firm’s differentiated approach to capabilities-driven strategy and capabilities building. He has co-authored the books The Essential Advantage and Cut Costs and Grow Stronger, both published by the Harvard Business Review Press, and also co-authored several articles on business strategy published in leading journals such as the Harvard Business Review and strategy+business, including “The Coherence Premium,” “The Right to Win,” and “The Capabilities Premium in M&A.”

Mr. Mainardi was born and raised in Rome and moved to the United States for college. He attended Northwestern University in Chicago and earned in six years a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering, a Master’s degree in manufacturing engineering, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. He currently teaches at Kellogg as an Adjunct Professor of Management & Strategy.