Maxwell Gustafson
, North America
Max Gustafson is a Principal at Roland Berger based in Washington DC. He specializes in operations strategy, engineering excellence, complexity management, cost transformation, and procurement, helping industrial and automotive companies improve performance, strengthen resilience, and create sustainable competitive advantage.
Max has extensive experience advising clients on engineering excellence, modular product platforms, product complexity management, sourcing strategy, manufacturing footprint optimization, and supply chain transformation. His work spans strategic cost reduction, modularization, AI-enabled operations, and digital solutions that help organizations navigate evolving market dynamics while accelerating growth and improving profitability.
Prior to joining Roland Berger, Max held strategy consulting and industry roles, where he gained experience across engineering and product development, product management, manufacturing, and commercial strategy. This combination of operational and consulting expertise enables him to help clients solve complex challenges with practical, results-oriented solutions.
Max holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.
Regional Insights Americas
Podcast, July 16, 2026
Unlocking the hidden value in tail spend: How small moves create big impact
Article, April 22, 2026
Mastering variety without the cost: Winning with complexity management
Article, March 30, 2026
VISION Framework: Reimaging product cost optimization
Solution, March 19, 2026
Engineering Excellence: The hidden driver of automotive profitability
Article, July 22, 2025
The power of product costing as a value generator across the ownership cycle
Article, April 16, 2025
Hitting the sweet spot: How to optimize product cost and value
Solution, June 7, 2024