Boston Consulting Group’s reckoning after Gaza aid project controversy

Boston Consulting Group has taken a number of actions in response to the mounting controversy over its involvement with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The management consulting firm has ceased its work, withdrawn its project team from Tel Aviv, fired two senior partners, issued a public apology, and launched an internal investigation.

Between October 2024 and this week, Boston Consulting Group had provided support to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was established to create a new mechanism for delivering aid to Gaza, bypassing traditional channels such as the United Nations.

The consulting firm played a pivotal role in the creation and operation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, among others contributing to the logistics, business strategy, and operational framework of the foundation.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, however, quickly drew criticism for its limited distribution sites, heavy Israeli oversight, and the use of private security contractors. To make matters worse, when the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation kicked off its operations in the Gaza Strip, numerous tragic incidents occurred in which dozens of Palestinians were killed or wounded while seeking aid.

After a detailed reconstruction from The Washington Post made Boston Consulting Group’s involvement public, external criticism erupted. And as that news became public, internal dissent erupted as well. Employees wrote to leadership demanding accountability and transparency, warning that the consulting firm risked complicity in grave human rights abuses.

The backlash prompted BCG’s CEO, Christoph Schweizer, to issue a company-wide apology, admitting to “process failures” and expressing regret for the disappointment caused to employees, clients, and the broader community.

Schweizer’s message to BCG alumni, obtained by The Washington Post, stated: “The humanitarian crisis and aid efforts in Gaza have come under scrutiny, raising serious questions about our role and how the work was approved. That work violated BCG’s direction, policies, and values – including our apolitical and humanitarian-focused stance in this conflict.”

Measures Taken: Firings and Formal Investigation

In response to the internal and external criticism, BCG fired the two senior partners responsible for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation project (Matt Schlueter and Ryan Ordway), stating that their actions were unauthorized, not in line with the firm’s standards and not fully disclosed (a source close to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation questioned that rationale).

The consulting company terminated its contract with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and withdrew its project team from Tel Aviv, and launched a formal investigation to understand how the project was approved and to prevent similar incidents in the future. Boston Consulting Group issued a company-wide apology for the matter and sent a letter to the media (see below), and internally, a campaign has been kicked off to address the internal unrest and reaffirm the firm’s values.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has meanwhile confirmed BCG’s withdrawal, stating that it would be difficult to continue running in the near term without BCG’s logistical and strategic support.

Letter to the media

The full letter of BCG CEO Christoph Schweizer to media outlets:

“Following a message to BCG staff, we are reaching out regarding recent media coverage. The reporting references BCG in connection with the humanitarian crisis and aid efforts in Gaza. These have come under scrutiny, raising serious questions about our role and how the work was approved.

As in everything we do-and especially in contexts involving humanitarian support – our engagements must reflect the highest standards of judgment and responsibility. We want to share what we know, where we failed, and how we are responding.

In October 2024, a BCG team from the US, led by two Managing Director and Partners, provided pro bono support to help stand up an aid organization intended to operate alongside other relief efforts in Gaza. The two senior partners leading the project did not disclose the full nature of the engagement, failed to follow BCG’s approval processes, and led us to believe the effort had broad multi-lateral support from several countries and NGOs.

In violation of BCG's direction, policies, and values – including our apolitical and humanitarian-focused stance in this conflict-the team carried out subsequent unauthorized work. These actions reflected a serious failure of judgment and adherence to our standards.

We are shocked and outraged by the actions of these two senior partners. They have been exited from the firm. BCG disavows the work they undertook. It has been stopped, and BCG has not and will not be paid for it.

We have launched a formal investigation of the actions of the senior partners and the process failures that allowed this to happen. This is being led by our Legal team with the support of external counsel, and it remains ongoing.

We are sorry that in this situation, we fell short-of our own standards and of the trust that you, our people, our clients, and our broader communities place in BCG. We are acting with urgency and seriousness to learn from this and to ensure it does not happen again.

Our ambition is and has always been to contribute to effective, multi-lateral, and sustainable humanitarian responses. We are committed to living our values – with accountability for our failures and humility in how we move forward.”