I’m Cassandra Grafström, a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. I hold a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Michigan. Before completing my PhD, I completed a pre-doctoral fellow in Political Economy at The Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, Germany.

At BCG I worked on multiple corporate strategy cases, helping iconic companies identify their areas for growth and industry leadership in the coming years. I am excited to help solve complex business and social problems through the rigorous gathering and application of data to reach novel business insights. I have significant experience in project management; survey writing and analysis; and the gathering, synthesis, and analysis of disparate qualitative and quantitative data to identify unique business opportunities and risks.

My dissertation chairs are Bill Clark at Texas A&M and Rob Franzese at Michigan, with Arthur Lupia and Jenna Bednar serving as as committee members. Originally from Riverside, California, my research focuses on Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Economics generally, with a particular passion for understanding sources of democratic accountability and how institutions can help politicians break those chains that bind them to voters.

In my free time (ha!) I enjoy yoga, lifting weights, traveling anywhere and everywhere, playing more beach volleyball than is good for me, karaoke, live music, baking, handstands, cooking, any type of athletic race I can find, spending time with my wonderful friends, contemplating the thought processes of my cat Snickers, and reading biographies and theology. I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to make two countries into second homes as a study abroad student for a year in Lund, Sweden during undergrad, and Berlin, Germany for two years as a graduate student. Tack så mycket för besöket!