Lords of Strategy

5.

What Bill BainWanted

FOR ALL HIS SUCCESS, Bill Bain remains a touch sensitive about his educational credentials. Perhaps surprisingly for a man who founded the second great strategy consulting firm, he has neither an MBA nor an engineering degree, the latter the standard academic credential for the original lords. But absolutely like the rest of them, he was a maverick, a disruptive force, and ultimately someone who insisted on doing things his own way.

Born July 30, 1937, Bain grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee. His father came from a farming family, one of twelve children. While Bain père completed only elementary school, he subsequently worked his way up to become a small wholesale food broker. William Jr. started college at East Tennessee ...