Bruce Henderson - Biography

Biography

Originally called the Management and Consulting Division of the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company, what became BCG was itself a subsidiary of The Boston Company. A former salesman for the Southwestern Company (which his father owned for 50 years), Henderson attended the University of Virginia and then earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University before attending Harvard Business School. He left HBS ninety days before graduation to work for Westinghouse Corporation, where he became one of the youngest vice presidents in the company's history. He was named one of Time Magazine's top 10 news makers under 30 years old.

He left Westinghouse to head Arthur D. Little's management services unit before he accepted the challenge from the CEO of the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company to start a consulting arm for the bank. This consulting arm started operations in 1963. Initially it advised clients of the bank. The billings for the first month of BCG were only US$ 500. Nevertheless, Henderson hired his second consultant, Arthur P. Contas in December 1963. In 1974 Henderson made BCG an independent business. He retired from BCG in 1985 and then became a professor of management at Vanderbilt University.

The Economist magazine stated that Henderson did more to change the way business is done in the United States than any other man in American business history. Well known to many now is the famous Growth-Share Matrix ('cash cow') and the 'Experience curve'. His books were published in 27 languages.

Henderson retired to Nashville, and taught at The Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University. He was also honored by Vanderbilt's School of Engineering by being named to their rarely bestowed 'Distinguished Engineering Alumni'.