Building meaningful consulting projects from scratch

Today, we're excited to share Kamil Burkhanov's story: how a disillusioned physics student in St. Petersburg chased the consulting dream to Arthur D. Little, only to discover that solving 'the world's most pressing problems' meant routine work for companies he'd never heard of. When he immigrated to Germany, visa constraints meant he couldn't consider other employers—so he found another way to increase his impact. Through strategic donations and persistence through fifteen rejections, Kamil built a bridge between consulting expertise and the global charities that needed it most.

What drew you to consulting, and what did you discover once you arrived?

My career path began at a physics university in St. Petersburg. At first, studying physics brought me immense satisfaction, until I reached the point where the road ahead meant dedicating my life to one extremely narrow field — and that wasn’t the life I envisioned for myself. I needed to look further.

A friend invited me to a consulting event for newcomers, where they vividly described how consultants solve the world’s most pressing problems while earning what, for a disillusioned physicist, sounded like very impressive money. I was young, my critical thinking skills were still developing, and I heard exactly what I wanted to hear. Very soon, I found myself doing my first internship.

The disappointment came about a year and a half later, when I realized that I wasn’t solving global issues but rather routine commercial tasks for mid-sized companies I’d never even heard of before the projects.

Why did you stay? 

I joined Arthur D. Little, where I had the chance to work on interesting assignments, travel internationally, and, in 2022, transfer to the German office. The move gave me new hope of finding that “ideal” consulting experience: larger projects, international exposure.

Yet over time it became clear: despite the new wrapper, the essence was the same. Most people were there for the money, but money couldn’t compensate for how consulting consumed your entire life while giving back little of real meaning. That’s when it became time to reconsider my priorities: how could I make my work truly meaningful?

How did the transition from Moscow to Munich affect your thinking?

At first, as an immigrant, it wasn’t about perspectives at all — it was about rebuilding my life from scratch. But a year later, I returned to the search for meaning in my work and remembered what had originally drawn me to science: not money or short-term excitement, but the desire to touch something global. Sadly, neither physics nor consulting could give me that. I needed a third path — to dedicate myself to addressing the world’s most pressing problems.

Ultimately, it seems like you did find a way to make your work more meaningful – how did you do it?

In a way, I didn’t have much of a choice. As an immigrant, during the first years you are heavily dependent on visas and therefore on your employer. You can’t just walk away from your job or take an unpaid internship.

But you can focus on the positives, look for other ways to contribute. I’m grateful I stayed with ADL during that first wave of disappointment, because moving to Germany changed a lot for me. In Russia, the concept of evidence-based social impact was just beginning to emerge, but here in Europe, the opportunities to engage with it are significantly greater. Just a month after arriving, I went to a conference in Berlin on global impact, where I met people for whom high-impact careers were not an abstraction but a reality. That meant it could be real for me, too. 

So if you couldn’t change your job, how did you find ways to make a difference?

I recently came across a post suggesting that constraints should be treated as normal — everyone has them. Yes, I couldn’t simply join some dream organization and work exclusively on meaningful causes. But that didn’t mean I had to do nothing. I could help with my money and with my time. The real question was: how could I maximize the good I could do under these circumstances?

In the first year I focused on donations through Effektiv Spenden. The platform is easy to use: you can donate to pooled funds instead of picking a single organization. I split my giving evenly between global health & development and the securing the future fund.

In Germany, donating is especially rewarding — charitable contributions are tax-deductible up to 20% of income. With a marginal tax rate of around 40%, if I donate €5,000 (roughly the cost of saving one life), my tax bill drops by €2,000. In effect, the donation costs me €3,000. For a consultant, donating about 5% of salary can mean saving a life — and getting €2,000 back. It really feels like a no-brainer.

Donations are one way to have an impact. The other way is that we, as consultants, have strategic skills that some high-impact NGOs may benefit from. When I moved to Munich, an internal ESG team at Arthur D. Little was just starting to emerge. There was no structure and no ongoing projects yet. You could pick up ideas, pitch them to leadership, and get some budget. Instead of focusing, e.g., on reducing Arthur D. Little's emissions, which may not have a significant impact since we're a consulting company that doesn't emit a lot, I thought we could apply our skills in the area where we excel — strategy and innovation — to the best charities in the world.

How did you and the team at Arthur D. Little apply your skills?

Through connections I had built, I reached out to organizations funded by Effektiv Spenden. That’s how our first pro bono project with a climate nonprofit began.

Taking this project from idea to execution was the most challenging period — unsurprising when you’re paving the way. I had to convince internal management and the ESG team that this was a project worth pursuing. Then, I needed to find a partner to sponsor this project and identify internal resources to support it, secure budget approval from the Arthur D. Little board, and persuade market leaders to allow consultants to join. Since this was pro bono, consultants would get utilization but no margin. I wanted the best, most motivated consultants, who are, of course, always in demand. 

What made the difference was identifying consultants who were already motivated, and focusing on markets that valued this kind of work. Sweden, for instance, placed a strong emphasis on sustainability and was willing to dedicate consultants to it. Eventually, I found a manager who was deeply interested in such initiatives and eager to participate. Her supervising partner supported her involvement, not only because of her strong motivation but also because she was exceptionally talented — someone worth retaining.  Normally, managers of her caliber would be staffed on commercial projects instead. Before finding her, I spoke with ten to fifteen market leaders and partners, all of whom had said no.

Ten or fifteen nos!  You were persistent despite all those rejections.

It was hard! The external challenges — like finding top nonprofits and honing in on their needs— were matched by internal ones, such as coordinating with the team and staying within budget. In January of last year, we launched the project and successfully delivered it by March. Since then, we’ve established quarterly calls with the NGO to explore further collaboration, from fundraising to new initiatives.

I’ll admit, there were moments when I doubted whether we’d succeed. But the project was a real success, and it gave us a reputation as a consultancy that can deliver. That credibility helped us secure our next engagement: a high-profile, co-branded study with the Good Food Institute. Now, I believe, we’re recognized for delivering high-impact projects with leading charities.

The second project has also generated tangible business opportunities for Arthur D. Little. Internal stakeholders are increasingly convinced that pro bono work can drive business, provided the topic and partner NGO are chosen wisely. That’s why we’re now exploring how to scale this approach, including secondments that could deepen our partnerships even further!

Do you have any advice for young Kamil? 

Staying positive is crucial. Do your best, but don’t obsess over results. It’s fine if something doesn’t work for a while — patience matters.

But the biggest lesson I’d share is this: connect earlier. For too long, I was trying to do this alone. Now that I’ve connected with others through Consultants for Impact, I see so many people pursuing the same goals and eager to support each other — not only globally, but within my own firm. 

When I found the manager for our first pro bono project, she brought not only excellent consulting skills but also genuine care for the cause. That alignment made it one of the best professional experiences of my life and gave me the energy to keep going.

Our firm has 1,500 consultants, and other firms have tens of thousands. If you look, you’ll find people with similar worldviews who want to make a difference. Connecting with them changes everything.