Rising Stars of the Profession 2021: Daniel Gospodinov

Daniel has worked at Boston Consulting Group for 4.5 years and received the fastest promotions at every level. From managing entire projects, a year before his official promotion to Project Leader, to becoming a core member of BCG's retail and fashion practices and developing a strong track record advising global retail, and fashion brands.

He led a digital project for a top European retailer, delivering £0.8bn sales uplift by developing & managing the implementation of country-specific Omnichannel propositions across the company's top 5 geographies during COVID19. Daniel also created a "Supply chain of the future" strategy for a global apparel retailer – positioning for 25-30% cost reduction in the next 5 years by launching end-to-end digitized sourcing, while delivering $90m of savings within 6 months of the start of the program.

Daniel's outstanding work spans not only client engagement but BCG contributions as well. He has been tapped for several internal leadership, strategy and operations programs, and is also a BCG Diversity & Inclusion trainer, leading a BCG-wide initiative for greater inclusion. As part of BCG's Bonding Committee, Daniel organizes team activities, including pioneering a cross-office competition with ~1600+ participants across Europe. Daniel is not only known for a strong work ethic, but also as a motivator, developer of teams, and ensuring a good work-life balance for them.

"I enjoy three aspects of consulting the most," says Daniel about what he likes most about the consulting industry. "The opportunity to problem solve and deliver impact on some of the biggest strategic questions corporates face. The ability to work with really smart and driven individuals with a 'go-getter' mindset, and the steep learning curve coming from the diverse topics, client situations and international aspect of the job."

Daniel shares that his proudest achievement to date came from outside his work at BCG. "I have organized and managed different community projects aimed at supporting people from disadvantaged areas in the UK and Europe; I started and led a program of 10 up-skilling workshops for young people from underprivileged backgrounds with Rotaract International, a not-for-profit organization which I am a former vice-president.

This achievement taught me valuable personal lessons and motivated me: to appreciate and embrace the differences amongst people, to be more empathetic, to adapt my communication style depending on my counterpart's background, to look at problems from a more sustainable perspective, and to pursue what I believe in.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

"Look ahead: always assess your successes against your goals (not against your status quo).' My BCG mentor gave me this advice in my second year in BCG, and I have embraced it since then. The advice focused on your ability to not accept the status quo (even if you feel comfortable in it) – whether it is at work or in your personal life. You should aim to take on a challenge, work towards achieving it, mentally strive towards and position yourself for the next career step/personal goal."

"I find this advice extremely useful – as it allows you to view others in the same light as well. Professionally, it pushes me to strive towards being a better leader with forward-looking perspectives and provides a stronger ability to offer stretched opportunities to others (who deserve the step-up opportunity as well).}

"Personally, it drives the need for self-improvement, constant energy, and proactivity; and empowers me to inspire those around me with my determination and focus on impact."