Boston Consulting Group NZ

1. Entity Name: Boston Consulting Group (NZ) – an Auckland-based branch of the global Boston Consulting Group. The firm’s launch was formally announced as “Boston Consulting Group [BCG] launches New Zealand office in Auckland”.

2. Entity Type: Private management consulting firm (subsidiary/branch of BCG Inc, USA). BCG is described as a “global management consultancy”.

3. Registration Number (NZ Companies Office): Data Not Found. (No public NZ company registration number is readily available for BCG NZ; it appears as an overseas branch rather than separate local entity.)

4. Incorporation Date / Establishment: Presence in NZ for decades; no fixed office since 2010. BCG notes it “has not had a fixed office in New Zealand since 2010” but has nonetheless “supported some of the country’s leading companies”. The Auckland office officially opened in early 2022.

5. Headquarters / Address: 12 Madden Street, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland 1010 (BCG Auckland Office).

6. Other NZ Offices: Auckland only. (No public record of other BCG offices in NZ; staff reportedly base in Auckland.)

7. Parent Company: Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (Boston, USA). (Part of the global BCG network of offices and affiliates.)

8. Leadership (NZ branch): Phillip Benedetti – Managing Director & Partner NZ (Jan 2022 – Jan 2025), currently Managing Director & Partner USA (Jan 2025 – Present). Kelly Newton – Managing Partner, NZ (Auckland). Andrew Clark – Chairman, BCG New Zealand. (BCG’s Australia & NZ operations are led by APAC MD Anthony Roediger, but local leadership is Newton.)

9. Services / Industry: Core business and management consulting – strategy, innovation, finance, digital/tech, operations. BCG states it “delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures”. It lists capabilities in AI, climate change, corporate strategy, etc.

10. Key Focus Areas: Strategic transformation and sustainability. BCG NZ cites expertise in “Artificial Intelligence, Business and Organizational Purpose, Resilience, Business Transformation, Climate Change and Sustainability, Corporate Finance and Strategy, … Social Impact”, reflecting global trends.

11. Clients – Private Sector: A range of large New Zealand corporations. BCG’s materials claim work with “a wide array of New Zealand’s most respected companies”. The firm’s regional head notes having supported “some of the country’s leading companies” (Auckland office aim is 20 staff by end of 2022). Specific client names are undisclosed (confidential), but likely include major banks, insurers, agriculture and energy firms (by analogy with BCG’s Asia-Pacific practice).

12. Clients – Public / NGOs: Claims to serve public sector and not-for-profits. According to BCG’s APAC MD, the firm has supported “public sector and not-for-profit clients” in NZ. However, no public tender or contract documents explicitly list BCG NZ. Any government consulting by BCG (e.g. health, education, climate) is not transparently detailed.

13. Government Contracts: Data Not Found. (No official announcements or procurement records publicly identify BCG NZ on government projects. In principle, BCG’s APAC office could bid on contracts, but such engagements are not visible on NZ tender portals.)

14. Political Donations: Data Not Found. (BCG is privately held; New Zealand law forbids corporate donations to parties. No public records show any BCG-linked individuals making party contributions.)

15. Lobbyist Registration: None. BCG NZ is not listed on any voluntary lobbyist register. New Zealand has no mandatory lobby register for firms like BCG, so its advisory work is unreported.

16. Affiliations / Memberships: Data Not Found. (No clear membership of local business lobby groups or trade associations listed. BCG globally is a UN Global Compact signatory, but no NZ-specific affiliations are stated.)

17. Industry Networks: (Likely none disclosed.) BCG operates through global networks (e.g. Boston-based HQ and regional APAC offices). Locally, BCG NZ may participate in business forums or roundtables, though specifics are opaque.

18. Board Participation / Influence: Data Not Found. (No public info on NZ BCG staff serving on government or Crown boards. Internationally, BCG says it carefully manages external board roles to avoid conflicts.)

19. Ethical Guidelines: BCG publishes a Code of Conduct. It stresses conflict rules (e.g. “12-month rule” against switching clients) and requires any Board memberships or outside jobs to be approved. The Auckland office also highlights an employee Whistleblower Policy against illegal conduct.

20. Corporate Social Responsibility: BCG markets itself as valuing social impact. NZ site pages emphasize community and innovation, and climate strategy consulting. However, specific CSR initiatives in NZ are not documented externally.

21. Transparency Measures: Data Not Found. (No NZ disclosures such as financial filings or transparency reports. Being private, BCG NZ does not publish accounts.)

22. Controversies (NZ): None publicly reported. (BCG NZ has not been involved in any known scandal or media controversies within NZ to date.)

23. Global Controversies: (Context – while not NZ-specific, note that large consultancies sometimes attract criticism. For example, Transparency International warns that industries often use consultancy advice to lobby governments on climate. There is no record that BCG’s NZ branch has faced global probe or sanction.)

24. Revolving-door and Personnel: No specific cases identified. (NZ lacks cooling-off periods for officials moving into consulting. BCG globally often hires former executives. No known NZ government officials are listed as BCG NZ staff.)

25. Lobbying Gaps & Influence: NZ’s voluntary lobby practices mean BCG’s influence is uncharted. As the Integrity Institute notes, without strict rules a few “vested interests get big benefits” and public service advice can be “corrupted by lobbyists”. BCG NZ’s exact interactions with ministers or agencies are undisclosed, illustrating a key transparency gap.

26. Economic Footprint: Data Not Found. (BCG NZ is privately-held; revenue and profit figures are not public. Globally, BCG Inc. earns multi-billion dollars annually, but NZ-specific figures are not reported.)

27. Staff Size: Small team. At launch in 2022, BCG aimed for ~20 NZ staff. (Actual current headcount is undisclosed, likely in the tens.)

28. Employees – Background: The team is described as “talented, energetic, and close-knit”. Specific bios (online) show most leaders have international consulting backgrounds, not former NZ officials. (E.g., Phillip Benedetti spent many years with BCG globally, Kelly Newton is an ex-BCG leader, Marco Ciobo had a career in consulting/Australian politics.)

29. Integrity / Compliance: BCG publicly endorses strong compliance: its Code prohibits conflicts of interest, insider trading, etc. For example, it warns that employees “must avoid engagements…that could raise [conflicts]”. How rigorously these policies constrain high-level advice work (or hidden lobbying) in practice is not transparent.

Sources

[1] Boston Consulting Group launches Auckland Office, Boston Consulting Group (press release), https://www.bcg.com/press/1february2022-bcg-launches-auckland-office.

[2] Contact Us | Auckland Office, New Zealand, Boston Consulting Group, https://www.bcg.com/offices/auckland.

[3] Phillip Benedetti, Boston Consulting Group, https://www.bcg.com/ja-jp/about/people/experts/phillip-benedetti.

[4] Consulting and Industry Expertise | New Zealand, Boston Consulting Group, https://www.bcg.com/new-zealand/client-consulting-work.

[5] BCG Life in New Zealand (Work and Culture), Boston Consulting Group, https://www.bcg.com/new-zealand/work-and-culture.

[6] Future of NZ Inc: What Will New Zealand Be Known for in 2050?, Boston Consulting Group Insights, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/future-of-nz-inc-what-will-new-zealand-be-known-for-in-2050.

[7] Boston Consulting Group launches New Zealand office in Auckland, Consultancy.com.au, 6 Feb 2022, https://www.consultancy.com.au/news/4834/boston-consulting-group-launches-new-zealand-office-in-auckland.

[8] Code of Conduct (2024), Boston Consulting Group (internal policy PDF), https://media-publications.bcg.com/BCG-Code-of-Conduct-2024-External.pdf.

[9] “Lobbying corrupts decisions”, The Integrity Institute (NZ), https://theintegrityinstitute.org.nz/lobbying-corrupts-decisions/.

[10] Transparency International, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST & UNDEUE INFLUENCE IN CLIMATE ACTION (2021) [policy brief], https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/2021-Conflicts-of-interest-undue-influence-in-climate-action.pdf.

Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz