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Duncan Burck, Managing Director of MCB Business Partners, founded the company in 2017 with a clear focus: making young people and their journey in building purpose-driven lives our North Star.
His passion stems from his own experiences as a lost, confused learner, struggling through education without truly connecting with his innate strengths and interests until much later in his career.
Another key driver of Duncan’s passion is his two decades of volunteering as a Rotarian, where he championed youth-focused programs. He saw firsthand how ‘a-ha’ moments, created through opportunities for self-discovery and understanding one’s place in the world, can become life-changing turning points for young people, setting them up for brighter futures.
With his extensive global experience in business development, relationship building, digital transformation, and education—and a strong sense of purpose—Duncan has done the hard yards and laid a foundation for a business that has set out to re-build the Village, helping young people connect with their innate strengths, interests, and build purpose-driven lives.
In its early years, MCB Business Partners, guided by Duncan’s next-gen focus, concentrated on developing projects centered on education and workforce development. These initiatives laid the groundwork for empowering young people through innovative learning opportunities.
By collaborating with governments, corporations, industry associations, and educators, Duncan refined a value proposition that speaks to the needs of all stakeholders. This alignment strengthened MCB’s mission and expanded its impact.
The Village concept emerged from this vision, supporting teachers with the tools and partnerships to help young people develop the knowledge, skills, and mindset needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world. This foundation is driving sustainable, empowered futures for all involved.
Duncan firmly believes that by truly getting better at understanding our young people, we can become genuine partners in supporting them in life, education and career journeys. He emphasises that the sooner we help them find their bigger puzzle picture, the quicker we support them in piecing it together.
For MCB Business Partners, every program or initiative, in collaboration with the Village of partners and clients, must positively answer key questions: Is the young person learning about themselves? Are they empowered to make better decisions? Are they connected to their community and future? Are we providing the knowledge and skills they need? Are we making them feel good about themselves?
When MCB Business Partners meets these criteria and measures our impact, we know we are making a profound difference—not just for young people, but for the future of our communities, businesses, environment, and economy as a whole.