Leadership
Are you looking to exceed expectations through cooperation? We make our clients’ goals our own – and always represent independent, professional opinions in order to find optimal solutions. Whether as a Generalist or an Expert: at CORE you can compete with strong personalities at the highest level and jointly develop industry-leading solutions.
Partners
Our CORE Partners ensure the company's leadership and act as first points of contact for clients and colleagues as well as for the companies supporting us.
Competent key individuals jointly manage the company's success critical segments with their teams in order to further develop strategically important areas. This allows us to dynamically expand our expertise and client base in an evolving economic environment, leaning on organic growth and careful development of our corporate culture.
Olaf Acker is a Managing Partner at CORE, EPAM’s global business and technology advisory, which he co-leads with Philipp. He has more than 30 years of experience in strategy consulting and industry and has advised clients across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia, with a strong focus on digital business transformation.His work centers on integrating technology, experience design, and business operations into large-scale transformation programs that deliver measurable value. Olaf combines strategic vision with hands-on execution to help organizations achieve lasting competitive advantage. Prior to CORE, he held leadership roles at Booz Allen Hamilton, Strategy&, and led PwC’s global digital platform. Olaf holds a degree in business information systems from the University of Würzburg and completed an executive program at the London Business School.
Rajesh Bose is a Managing Partner at CORE, EPAM’s global business and technology advisory. He supports companies in achieving sustainable growth and transformation by aligning measurable business outcomes with human-centered leadership.With a background in strategy consulting and executive industry roles in industrial goods and automotive, Rajesh bridges operational excellence with a forward-thinking approach to customer value and capability building. At CORE, he continues his mission to help organizations redefine value creation, strengthen future-ready competencies, and lead with purpose. Rajesh holds an MBA from the University of Mannheim and Queen’s School of Business, and completed an Executive Leadership Program at IESE Business School in Barcelona.
Alistair Brown is a Managing Partner at CORE, EPAM’s global business and technology advisory. He leads the Open Banking & Payments practice and drives international transformation programs across central banks, commercial banks, fintechs, and retail organizations. His work focuses on applying a consult-design-build approach to modernize digital payment ecosystems at scale. Alistair brings over two decades of leadership experience across consulting and industry – with roles at KPMG, Capgemini, Mastercard Advisors, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and First Data. He currently serves on the board of ArCa, Armenia’s national payments organization, majority-owned by the Central Bank, supporting the modernization of the country’s monetary infrastructure.
Artur Burgardt is a Managing Partner at CORE, EPAM’s global business and technology advisory. He specializes in managing agile implementation projects in complex, technology-driven environments. With a background in theoretical physics, he began his career as a business analyst for leading financial institutions, where he gained early experience in core banking system development. At CORE, Artur focuses on delivering strategic technology programs, particularly in regulatory contexts and transformation initiatives. In addition to client engagements, he is responsible for CORE’s internal knowledge management and drives the development of methodological excellence within the organization. Artur holds a PhD in physics from Leipzig University and also earned a degree in International Relations from Andrássy University Budapest. He completed the Executive Program in Organizational Development at the Hertie School in Berlin.
Thomas is a Managing Partner at CORE, EPAM’s global business and technology advisory. He leads large-scale transformation programs in the financial services industry and oversees multidisciplinary teams of consultants and engineers focused on delivering high-impact results. His approach centers on actively managing complexity as a key driver of innovation and sustainable change. With a background in private equity, consulting, and entrepreneurship across various industries, Thomas brings a business-focused mindset to the execution of technology programs. He holds an Executive Master’s degree in Consulting & Transformation Management from ESCP Business School in Paris.
Dr. Philipp Kleine Jäger is a Managing Partner at CORE, EPAM's Global Business & Technology Advisory unit which he co-heads. He brings over 20 years of industry and strategy consulting experience, and served global clients across multiple industry practises with a strong focus on FSI.
He focuses on enterprise transformations & restructuring, driven by technology and business innovation. Philipp served in various industry roles such as CTO and Advisory Board member of multiple FinTechs, Lead Architect of an International Bank, and holds a PhD from the Institute for Technical Physics of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and a Master in Materials Science from Technical University of Darmstadt, he also attended ESADE's executive programme on Innovation Management.
Dr. Clément Mengue is a Managing Partner at CORE, EPAM’s global business and technology advisory. He leads the Private Equity & M&A practice in the EMEA region and supports value creation initiatives across the full M&A lifecycle. With more than 15 years of experience in transaction advisory and technology-enabled transformation, Clément combines analytical rigor with deep tech expertise – from integrated buy- and sell-side due diligence to post-merger integration and go-to-market strategy development. He leverages AI and automation to drive operational efficiency and revenue growth, particularly in high-growth sectors such as software, tech services, and telecommunications. Clément holds a PhD in economics from RWTH Aachen University, a Master’s degree in business information systems, and a diploma from NEOMA Business School.
Sandro Schmid is a Managing Partner at CORE, EPAM’s global business and technology advisory. He brings over 20 years of executive experience in financial services – including roles as CEO, COO, and CRO/CFO at several banks, as well as Partner in building the advisory business of a Big Four firm. His work focuses on technology-driven transformation with a specialization in governance, risk management, and regulatory strategy. Sandro combines deep industry insight with the ability to lead complex change at scale. He is also a board member and former president of the Swiss Risk Association, where he currently heads the “Digital Age” division.
