Michael Jary
Senior Advisor
Michael Jary was one of the founding team of OC&C Strategy Consultants in 1987. This year marks his 33rd year in consulting.
Michael was a member of OC&C’s founding team, and has previously served as the firm’s Worldwide Managing Partner. He now focuses on board-level advice to OC&C’s clients and thought leadership.
He works with the boards of major corporations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. He is a regular speaker and commentator, especially on topics to do with retail and branding, the impact of technology, corporate governance and social purpose.
Outside of OC&C, Michael is involved in several company boards and charities. He is a non-executive director and main board member of Barclays Bank UK plc. He is chair of the commercial committee of The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation, and chair of Duchy Originals, the largest organic food brand in the UK. He is chair of Itad, the leading advisory firm in international development. He is a trustee of Opera Holland Park, an advisory board member of the Fashion Retail Academy, an ambassador for the Retail Trust, and a guest lecturer at INSEAD. He is the lead non-executive director at Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government. He has previously been the chair of Fairtrade.
Education & Prior Experience
- SOAS, University of London: Post-graduate Diploma in Asian Art with Distinction
- INSEAD: MBA with Distinction
- Oxford University: MA Physics
- Booz & Co (1985-1987)
"While the challenges which our clients face are changing fast, the basic tools of sound analysis, clear thinking and an open advisory relationship continue to prove effective."
Related Publications
Opinion: Never again should we accept the notion of non-essential workers
It took a global pandemic to prompt society to reflect on the importance of work performed not only by healthcare and home care providers, but by delivery drivers, grocery store employees and other critical but modestly paid workers.
Opinion: The new channel split is buying vs shopping
Online retail took a big step forward during lockdown but it still cannot capture the experience of shopping, while physical retail faces its own post-pandemic challenge
Opinion: Coronavirus accelerates us to a retail tipping point
In a crisis as big as this one, acting on the immediate challenges is critical. Thinking about the longer term may seem impossible, or at least deferrable. But in many ways, it is even more important
Opinion: Stores can beat online by avoiding tyranny of choice
Bricks-and-mortar retailers who want to beat the online giants could do worse than listen to the wisdom of philosophers like Kierkegaard – or Homer Simpson – says Michael Jary
Do humanities matter in a world of AI?
There’s growing evidence that government’s view on the skills required to address Britain’s productivity shortfall
We lowered prices. That didn’t work, so now we’re raising them
In a strategy shift Procter & Gamble move to raises prices but is this really the way to success?
The complexity of sustainability
Whoever expected that sustainability would be simple? For two centuries innovation, ingenuity and investment have been entirely focused on the half of the supply chain which transforms natural resources into consumable goods
Are the best things in life free?
Writing in The Times, Philip Aldrick has posited that a lot of the value, or “consumer welfare”, of the digital economy is not captured in the GDP statistics, partly because many of its services are free
What was Facebook thinking?
The confusion (not least among US senators) as to Facebook's strategy and business model continues. The continued accusation of "Facebook is selling your data!" is of course not helpful, because it doesn't
Retail nation
UK economy and touches us all in many ways as customers, employees or partners