David Burns is a partner at Bain & Company in the Chicago office (Email: david.burns@bain.com). He is a leader in Bain’s industrial goods and services practice with a focus on the firm’s chemicals sector. Since joining Bain in 2006, he has advised a diverse range of clients on their biggest opportunities and challenges, and has focused much of his work on growth strategy, sales acceleration, and pricing. Prior to Bain, he spent three years working at McMaster-Carr, a maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) supply company, in various management roles. He has a BS degree in mechanical engineering and economics from Carnegie Mellon Univ., and an MBA from the Univ. of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.