Stephen Edison ’03, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) led the spring 2025 Dolan Dean's Executive Forum in a conversation titled “From Algorithms to Impact: AI Trends in a Consulting Career.”
As part of the once-a-semester Dean's Executive Forum event at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, Edison spoke to nearly 100 students on the ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting jobs, industries — and their future as business leaders.
Dolan School students got an inside look at Edison's journey — from the classrooms of Fairfield Dolan to the top ranks of global consulting. The alumnus urged current business students to hone transferable skills like financial analysis and quantitative reasoning early in their careers, as a way to fuel professional success.
During the moderated discussion with Zhan Li, DBA, dean of the Dolan School of Business, Edison shared how artificial intelligence is being leveraged in consulting and offered examples of how AI is “changing the way in which work gets done.” Just as he and his BCG team position clients to evolve in the AI space, Edison encouraged his audience to think about how they might utilize AI tools to personalize their customer experience in the brand-marketing space.
Edison is the global leader of Boston Consulting Group’s technology & digital advantage practice as it relates to technology, media, and telecommunications clients. He is also the North American leader for customer experience across industries.
The senior consulting executive highlighted how his Jesuit education at Fairfield Dolan positioned him for success by balancing technical expertise with human-centered skills. He emphasized the importance of keeping ethics at the forefront of the conversation — a principle rooted in the foundation that was laid for him at Fairfield Dolan.
The Fairfield Dolan Dean’s Executive Forum features a prominent speaker each semester. Many alumni, like Edison, return to campus to offer students their expertise on hot topics and real-world business applications as a way of giving back to the University.
