David Michels
Partner,
About David
Expertise
David Michels is the managing partner of our Japan business and a senior Transformation coach.
Over his 25+ year career at Bain, David has led transformations across multiple industries and geographies, including the U.S., South America, Europe, India, and Japan.
He works with companies on all aspects of the transformation process—from structuring the program, to orchestrating the change, to energizing the organization. David is known for his ability to inspire executives and their teams and roll up his sleeves to help them deliver sustained results. His approach emphasizes the power of inspirational leadership, insight-rich analytics, and pragmatic co-creation.
David is a leader in Bain’s Global Change and Transformation Practice and regularly publishes on related topics, including in Harvard Business Review and a monthly column in Forbes.com.
Recent Insights
- “Fresh Thinking On Aging Leaders,” Forbes.com, April 2024, Article
- “It’s Bad News That So Few Companies Have A Clear Purpose,” Forbes.com, March 2024, Article
- “Three Ways Boards Of Directors Can Improve,” Forbes.com, February 2024, Article
- “Six Questions To Ask To Build A Stronger Corporate Culture,” Forbes.com, January 2024, Article
- “Preparing For The Future Of Work Demands Reskilling Current Employees,” Forbes.com, December 2023, Article
- “A New Board Agenda for Japan,” Report, November 2023
- “Seven Corporate Retreat Ideas For Your Next Team Offsite,” Forbes.com, November 2023, Article
- “A Study of Thousands of Executive Teams Reveals Five Central Behaviors of Top Teams,” Forbes.com, September 2023, Article
- “The Power of Corporate Stories,” Forbes.com, August 2023, Article
- “The New Chief Transformation Officer Role In Business,” Forbes.com, June 2023, Article
- “Now Is Not The Time To Give Up On DEI,” Forbes.com, June 2023, Article
- “How Investing in DEI Helps Companies Become More Adaptable,” HBR.org, May 2023, Article
- “Building the Office That Workers of the Future Need,” Forbes.com, April 2023, Article
- “Leaders Navigating an Uncertain World,” Forbes.com, April 2023, Article
- “How to Run a Transformation That Creates More Energy Than It Consumes,” Forbes.com, March 2023, Article
- “CEO Reading List: Five Books for 2023,” Forbes.com, December 2022, Article
- “How Leaders Build Resilient Organizations,” Forbes.com, November 2022, Article
- “A Framework For Effective Feedback: Moving From “I” To “We” To “You”,” Forbes.com, October 2022, Article
- “Why Do We Work?,” Forbes.com, September 2022, Article
- “The Transformative Power of Inspirational Leadership,” Forbes.com, July 2022, Article