Inside the Strategy Room

McKinsey Strategy and Corporate Finance on LinkedIn

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300. The CEO’s agenda for thriving in the agentic age

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 05:15:41 +0000

Generative and agentic AI are moving rapidly from experimentation to enterprise-wide transformation—but many CEOs are still grappling with what this really means for their business.

In this episode, McKinsey experts Tanguy Catlin, Sandra Durth, Lari Hämäläinen, and Antoine Montard examine why AI is being viewed as a true general-purpose technology, on par with past breakthroughs like electricity and the internet, and what that implies for competition, investment, and long-term value creation.

We discuss the importance of thinking across strategy, technology, and organization to maximize the value from AI—and why focusing on productivity alone may not be enough to win.

We also unpack the practical challenges leaders face and how to address them including redesigning workflows and operating models, managing large-scale workforce transitions, and building the skills and organizational capabilities needed to capture AI’s full potential.

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Seizing the agentic AI advantage

A Century of Plenty

New MIT Sloan research suggests that AI is more likely to complement, not replace, human workers

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299. The new CEO’s guide to stakeholder impact

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:40:17 +0000

For new CEOs, engaging stakeholders is one of the most important—and most challenging—parts of the job. In this episode, Carolyn Dewar, Blair Epstein, and Eric Sherman discuss how CEOs can build a strong stakeholder strategy from day one.

Drawing on research and their work with leaders across industries, they explore why stakeholder engagement matters so much, the unique challenges new CEOs face, and how leaders can best balance competing priorities across investors, employees, customers, regulators, and communities. They also discuss practical ways to create a clear narrative, strengthen communication, and build leverage through the top team.

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Nail your firsts: A new CEO’s guide to stakeholder impact

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CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders From the Rest

The Strategic CEO newsletter on LinkedIn

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298. The CEO as a resilience leader

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 01:19:38 +0000

Building resilience is a critical skill for organizations today, yet our research shows that many leaders and organizations don’t spend enough time building their resilience to navigate current and emerging risks. In this episode, two authors of a recent article on the topic discuss how organizations can better prepare for what they face today and in the future.

Ida Kristensen is a senior partner in our New York office and the global co-leader of our Risk and Resilience Practice. She advises clients across sectors on risk, strategy, and operational topics spanning enterprise risk management, resilience, organization and talent, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and operational improvement. And Linda Liu is a partner in our New York office and a leader in our Risk and Resilience Practice and our crisis response initiative. She works with global organizations on strategy, risk, operations, and organizational transformation.

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Resilience pulse check: Harnessing collaboration to navigate a volatile world

High-performing teams: A timeless leadership topic

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McKinsey Risk and Resilience on LinkedIn

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297. Boards in the age of AI

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 05:54:55 +0000

As artificial intelligence transforms how companies compete, many boards are grappling with how to provide effective oversight in this new era. Senior partners Aamer Baig, Celia Huber, and senior advisor Rebecca Schechter join host Sean Brown Inside the Strategy Room to discuss their recent article on how directors can rethink their guidance on AI adoption and readiness, while navigating risks that cut across strategy, talent, and governance.

The AI reckoning: How boards can evolve

Rewired: How leading companies win with technology and AI

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296. The power of rigor in transformation

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:18:27 +0000

Companies that execute transformations with rigor are much more likely to achieve their goals, generate higher total shareholder returns, and enjoy better organizational health. In this episode, Preeya Mody and Dominic Skerritt join host Sean Brown to share insights from their latest research on the role of rigor in driving and sustaining successful transformations. They discuss what defines rigor in a transformation, explore the three elements that rigorous transformations consistently demonstrate, and share practical advice for sustaining momentum without burning out teams.

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Beyond transformation: What we now know about driving bottom-line performance

The powerful role financial incentives can play in a transformation

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295. AI, strategy, and the future of work: What business leaders need to know

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 03:49:58 +0000

While artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from experimentation to execution, many companies still struggle to capture real value from the technology. In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Jean-Paul Carvalho and Robin Nuttall to explore how CEOs can more effectively scale AI and to discuss the technology's implications for the future of work and organizations.

Jean-Paul is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Oxford’s Department of Economics and Director of Oxford Elevate. Robin Nuttall is an expert partner in our London office and a leader of our regulatory strategy and environmental, social, and governance work. Robin is also a Business Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Economics Department.

Related insightsHow AI is transforming strategy development The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation Building next-horizon AI experiences Artificial intelligence in strategy

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294. Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon on adapting to economic and technological change

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 20:00:00 +0000

What does today’s wave of AI and economic change really mean for markets, jobs, and leadership?

In this episode, David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, joins our North America Chair and senior partner, Eric Kutcher, to explain why he sees the current moment as more evolutionary than unprecedented. Solomon discusses what’s driving market resilience in 2026, including fiscal policy, AI infrastructure investment, and shifting trade dynamics. He also shares how Goldman is using AI to boost productivity, reengineer core processes, and invest for long-term growth—as well as candid lessons on leadership, resilience, and decision-making at the top. This episode was recorded in December 2025.

Related insights

The strategic realities of a new era

‘Saying “I don’t know” is one of the hardest things a leader can do’: A conversation with Delta CEO Ed Bastian

Retired US Navy Admiral Eric Olson: Leading effectively in uncertain times

Building geopolitical resilience: A conversation with Michèle Flournoy

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293. Private equity 2026 outlook: Clearer view, tougher terrain

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 20:00:00 +0000

After a long period of uncertainty, the fog has lifted, and while private equity rebounded in 2025, the clearer visibility has also revealed a more complex and demanding landscape.

In this episode, the authors of our 2026 Global Private Markets Report unpack the structural shifts reshaping the industry—from elevated multiples and longer hold periods to the growing importance of scale, specialization, and alternative capital. They also explore how artificial intelligence is emerging as a core driver of competitive advantage, with early adopters embedding AI into pricing, productivity, and portfolio strategy to create structural alpha.

As private equity continues to mature, dispersion between leaders and laggards is set to widen. The question for dealmakers, operators, fundraisers, and LPs alike: who is equipped to best navigate this new terrain?

Related insights

Global Private Markets Report 2026 Private equity: Clearer view, tougher terrain

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292. 2026 M&A Trends: Navigating a rapidly rebounding market

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Top dealmakers entered 2025 expecting to overcome continued challenges, but few anticipated how sharply trade and geopolitical pressures would intensify. In this episode, Jake Henry and Mieke Van Oostende, the global co-leaders of our M&A Practice, share key themes from our annual M&A report. They reflect on how dealmakers maintained focus, adjusted portfolios, and capitalized on shifting sector dynamics to drive substantial growth in 2025. They also share their perspectives on the five trends driving M&A in 2026.

Related Insights

Read the full report on McKinsey.com: 2026 M&A trends: Navigating a rapidly rebounding market

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291. ‘Having a human bank is very important’: A conversation with Citi CEO Jane Fraser

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 21:29:50 +0000

Jane Fraser, Chair and CEO of Citi, talks with McKinsey Senior Partner and North America Managing Partner Eric Kutcher. After becoming CEO in March 2021, Jane launched a multi-year strategy to transform, simplify, and modernize the bank for the digital age – leveraging Citi’s unique global context to reset where and how it competes. Jane speaks about what the last five years have looked like for Citi and the role AI and blockchain technologies are playing, as well as what she’s learned along the way about talent, intent, and resilience. She also shares the global trends she is seeing as one of the world’s most well-travelled CEOs.

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‘You’ve got to be willing to “do,” as opposed to getting disrupted by somebody else’: A conversation with IBM CEO Arvind Krishna

‘Saying “I don’t know” is one of the hardest things a leader can do’: A conversation with Delta CEO Ed Bastian

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290. Tim Koller reflects on three decades of Valuation at McKinsey

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 04:28:08 +0000

From its origins as an internal three-ring binder to its status as a global reference text, Valuation has shaped how business leaders think about value creation for more than 30 years.

In this episode, co-author Tim Koller joins the co-leaders of our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice, Andy West and Dago Diedrich, to reflect on the evolution of Valuation, the principles that have remained timeless, and the lessons learned across market cycles, bubbles, and changing executive expectations. Tim also shares his perspective on long-term orientation, disciplined leadership, and the legacy he hopes the book leaves with the business community.

Related Insights

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies

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289. The CFO as growth leader: Levi’s Harmit Singh on transformation and the “Magic of the And.”

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 09:30:00 +0000

Levi Strauss & Co. Chief Finance and Growth Officer, Harmit Singh, joins us to share lessons from his 13-year journey transforming the iconic clothing company. Singh explains how Levi’s returned to growth, strengthened profitability, and shifted toward a direct-to-consumer model, while staying true to its purpose-driven heritage. He introduces the “Magic of the And”–his approach to driving both top- and bottom-line performance– and discusses building a performance culture, navigating volatility and tariffs with cross-functional teams, developing finance talent, and approaching AI in finance with practical use cases and discipline. Joining Harmit for this discussion is Steve Begley, a senior partner based in our New York office.

Related Insights

The State of Fashion 2026: When the rules change

How finance teams are putting AI to work today

How Nestlé’s CFO sharpens focus across a global portfolio

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288. Securing agentic AI: A playbook

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 02:07:50 +0000

As organizations increasingly employ agentic AI, they face new risks that could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive data, or erode customer trust. Rich Isenberg and Charlie Lewis join us to discuss these emerging risks and how leaders can proactively ensure secure and compliant adoption.

Rich Isenberg is a partner in our Atlanta office and a leader within our Risk and Resilience and Cybersecurity Practices. Charlie Lewis is a partner in our Connecticut office and leads our cybersecurity and tech resilience work across North America and Europe. Together, they offer a frontline perspective on how organizations are implementing agentic AI, the emerging forms of cyber and operational risk, and the critical steps leaders must take to build robust governance and resilience.

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Deploying agentic AI with safety and security: A playbook for technology leaders

The change agent: Goals, decisions, and implications for CEOs in the agentic age

Seizing the agentic AI advantage

McKinsey Risk & Resilience on LinkedIn

McKinsey Risk & Resilience: Our latest insights

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287. IBM Chairman, President, and CEO Arvind Krishna on setting bold ambition and driving growth through innovation

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Arvind Krishna, the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of IBM, stepped into the CEO role at IBM in 2020, following 30 years at the company. Prior to that, he held various senior positions, spanning VP of Cloud and Cognitive Software to Head of Research, where he drove innovation in core technologies – including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and cloud platform services. In today’s episode, Arvind joins our North America Chair and senior partner Eric Kutcher to discuss how he led IBM to triple its share price in just five years, the current AI landscape, how to pursue opportunities from volatility, the potential of quantum computing, what it takes to drive growth through innovation, and the dangers of being too risk-averse.

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CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the cycles of leadership

The Strategic CEO newsletter

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian: Lessons from the captain’s seat

Doug Parker, former chairman and CEO of American Airlines, shares leadership lessons

John Stankey talks about leaning into the long term at AT&T

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286. The Cigna Group’s Brian Evanko on improving affordability and prevention in healthcare

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 05:42:46 +0000

Health insurers are facing urgent challenges related to affordability, access, and how to safely and effectively leverage AI and emerging technologies. In this episode, McKinsey senior partner Celia Huber is joined by Brian Evanko, president and chief operating officer of The Cigna Group. In this role, Brian oversees all of the company's business units, including its two growth platforms: Cigna Healthcare, a health benefits business, and Evernorth, a health services business. Together, these business units serve customers in more than 30 countries.

From here, Brian has a unique view of the challenges facing the industry and the people it serves—including the fact that the vast amount of US healthcare spending goes toward chronic care. In their conversation, Brian shares his perspective on the innovation needed, such as through the adoption of AI, to improve affordability and support prevention.

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Future of US healthcare: Gathering storm 2.0 or a golden age?

Tackling healthcare’s biggest burdens with generative AI

The race to create a vaccine: A conversation with Frank D’Amelio

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285. Keys to success for CFOs leading transformations

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 22:11:25 +0000

CFOs are increasingly helping lead transformations of their companies, which has a range of implications for how they manage their time and stay up to date with technology. Leading transformation has often been viewed as more focused on other members of the C-suite. McKinsey’s research shows the critical role that CFOs have in the success of a transformation. In this episode, we speak with three McKinsey experts on the subject.

Kevin Carmody is a senior partner and the global co-leader of our CFO and Finance Excellence Practice based in Chicago. Previously, Kevin was a founding member of our Transformation Practice and a member of its global operating committee. Christian Grube is a partner in our Munich office, and leads our CFO and Finance Excellence Practice across Europe. Matt Maloney is a partner in our New York office, and leads our CFO and Finance Excellence Practice in the Americas.

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284. Inside the Chief of Staff role

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:45:38 +0000

Leaders across both the public and private sectors are navigating an era of constant disruption. They're expected to deliver major transformations, manage complexity, and balance competing priorities, all while ensuring their own teams are running smoothly. This is why the role of chief of staff has never been more critical. In this episode, three McKinsey experts–all former chiefs of staff–share insights on when a chief of staff is needed and what qualities distinguish those who excel in the role.

Michelle Forrest is the global client capabilities leader in our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice, and previously served as chief of staff to our former global managing partner, Kevin Sneader. Andrew Goodman is a senior partner in our London office, and leads our consumer technology and media practice across Europe. He has also led our Chief of Staff Forum and our research into the role of the chief of staff for the past decade. Previously, Andrew served as chief of staff for the McKinsey Centre for Government, our center of excellence that helps government leaders deliver better outcomes and experiences. Connor Rochford is an associate partner who previously served as chief of staff for the U.K.'s former Chief Medical Officer.

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Seven tips for success for new chiefs of staff at federal government agencies

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283. The CEO as chief storyteller

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 01:07:54 +0000

To ensure that their companies engage effectively with stakeholders, CEOs need to set communication standards, embody the organization’s culture and purpose, and speak up in moments that matter most. In today’s episode, we discuss what it takes for a CEO to shape and own their organization’s narrative. Joining us is Blair Epstein, a partner in our Bay Area office and a leader in our CEO Excellence Practice, Max Gleischman, a partner in our New York office who leads our strategic communications team, managing issues and policy communications for the firm, and Ramiro Prudencio, a partner in our London office who leads our global external communications team, building our reputation and engagement with external stakeholders.

Related insights:

The CEO’s role as chief storyteller

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory

How the best CEOs build lasting stakeholder relationships

A CEO for All Seasons

CEO Excellence

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282. Investing in innovation: A pathway to resilient growth

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 19:50:26 +0000

In times of economic volatility, the temptation to focus on short-term profitability can become a trap that stalls longer-term projects designed to spur growth. Yet as our long-standing research shows, companies that take a through-cycle approach to investing in growth and innovation consistently outperform their peers. In this episode, three innovation strategy and value creation experts share their latest research and tips for achieving resilient growth.

Matt Banholzer is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Chicago office and co-leader of our Global Strategic Growth and Innovation Practice. Tim Koller is a partner in our Denver office and co-author of the best-selling book, Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, now in its eighth edition. And Laura LaBerge is a senior expert in our Strategic Growth and Innovation Practice and is based in our Connecticut office.

Related insights

Investing in innovation: Three ways to do more with less

Innovation in a crisis: Why it is more critical than ever

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A bigger, bolder vision: How CROs are propelling growth from the C-suite

How top performers use innovation to grow within and beyond the core

How innovation can accelerate industry momentum

The eight essentials of innovation

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281. Pricing to create value across the private equity portfolio

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 06:45:46 +0000

A small improvement in pricing can often drive greater value creation than larger cost or volume improvements. However, private equity (PE) funds face unique challenges in identifying and addressing pricing opportunities across diverse portfolio companies, often lacking the dedicated tools and expertise to do so effectively. In this episode, Brian Elliott, Jordan Jakubovitz, and Michelle Nguyen discuss how PE funds can address these challenges and achieve efficient growth.

Brian Elliott is a senior partner in our New Jersey office and co-leads our pricing practice across all sectors. Brandon Heriford is a partner in our Atlanta office, and co-leads our Periscope B2B pricing solution with Brian. Michelle Nguyen is an associate partner in our New York office, and is a leader in our Private Capital Practice, and Dhruv Sriram is a consultant in our Atlanta office and a core member of our software and tech practice.

Related insights

Global Private Markets Report 2025: Braced for shifting weather

How to navigate pricing during disinflationary times

Pricing: The next frontier of value creation in private equity

Is your pricing strategy cutting it?

McKinsey Insights on Private Capital

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280. Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta on culture, strategy, and reinvention

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 20:30:04 +0000

Chris Nassetta has served as President and CEO of Hilton since 2007, leading the organization through some extraordinary challenges. Chris’s focus on a sustainable growth model and a brand-led, network-driven strategy has enabled Hilton to cultivate 25 brands and serve more than 250 million travelers annually. In today’s episode, Chris discusses this journey with Eric Kutcher, our North America Chair and Senior Partner, and shares what he’s learned about leadership along the way. Looking ahead, he explains why AI is the greatest gift for Hilton to deliver what customers want, whenever and wherever they want it.

Related Insights

CEO For All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

The Strategic CEO newsletter

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279. From the NFL to the C-Suite: Jason Wright on what it takes to transform organizations and build world-class teams

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 04:59:28 +0000

What do winning teams in elite sports teach us about driving transformation in business? This week, Kevin Carmody, a senior partner and global coleader of our CFO and finance excellence practice, speaks with former McKinsey partner Jason Wright, who helped lead a transformation as-president of the Washington Commanders (and is also a former NFL running back), and is now Managing Partner & Head of Investments at Ariel Project Level, a private equity fund focused on investing in women's sports.

Jason shares how clear, measurable goals and micro-markers can accelerate culture change; why some symbolic moves matter as much as big P&L levers; and how leaders can balance staying “on the wave tops” with timely “porpoise dives” into the details. He reflects on accountability, the balance between honesty and radical transparency, and what ultimately signaled that a troubled culture at the Washington Commanders was turning the corner. The conversation also explores Jason’s lessons from public crises, and his current role investing at scale in women’s sports.

We recorded Jason and Kevin’s conversation at a gathering of transformation leaders.

Related insights:

Worst to first: What it takes to build or remake a world-class team

McKinsey Transformation insights

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278. Frontier Communications CEO Nick Jeffery on purpose, strategy, and keeping it simple

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Nick Jeffery, President and CEO of Frontier Communications since 2021, has over three decades of strategic and operational leadership in the U.S. and global telecommunications industry. As a seasoned transformation leader, he has guided Frontier from bankruptcy to a successful turnaround in under five years and is now steering the company toward a multi-billion-dollar deal with Verizon. In this episode, Nick joins our North America Chair and senior partner Eric Kutcher to discuss the opportunity he saw in the struggling company, and the bold culture change - grounded in simplicity and a clarity of purpose - that has rallied a workforce around a shared transformation mission.

Mastering the cycles of CEO leadership: Stepping up and sending it forward

Mastering the cycles of CEO leadership: Starting strong, and staying ahead

The Josh Harris playbook: building cultures of excellence in business and sports

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

The Strategic CEO newsletter
Doug Parker, former chairman and CEO of American Airlines, shares leadership lessons
John Stankey talks about leaning into the long term at AT&T

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277. The new boardroom dynamic: More conversations, transparency, and trust

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 04:35:24 +0000

In this episode of Inside the Strategy Room, we discuss how the board’s relationship with management is evolving in an era of heightened uncertainty and rapid change. We are joined by board directors Susan Chapman-Hughes and Lan Kang, as well as McKinsey’s Board Services leader Frithjof Lund, and explore how boards are shifting from episodic oversight to continuous engagement, leveraging more frequent dialogue with management teams, investing in trust and culture, and rethinking structure and composition to add strategic value.

Susan Chapman‑Hughes is a seasoned board director and former C-Suite executive with deep experience in digital transformation and human-capital strategy. She is currently an independent director at The J.M. Smucker Company and Toast Inc.

Lan Kang is a global business leader and board member with extensive experience in healthcare, private equity, and strategy. She currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Azkarra Therapeutics, an early-stage biotechnology company. She serves on the board of Avantor Inc. and has held senior roles across Asia and the U.S.

Frithjof Lund is a senior partner and our managing partner in Norway. He leads our Board Services Practice, helping CEOs and boards of directors improve corporate governance and effectiveness. Frithjof also leads our Organization Practice in Scandinavia, helping clients develop high-performing organizations and leaders across the private and public sectors. He is based in our Oslo office.

Related insights

How public-company boards can thrive by adopting private equity practices

How boards can tackle geopolitical risk

The Board Perspective – Number 4

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276. From strategy to performance: Building a new operating model for a new world

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 08:35:52 +0000

To successfully execute a strategy, organizations must make deliberate choices about their operating model. In this episode, Julie Goran and Dickie Steele, both partners based in New York, discuss the key elements that comprise an operating model and how leaders can design and implement one that drives performance. They explore the significance of moving beyond traditional structures to more emergent models, and share insights from their research on the trends that are shaping the future of organizational design. Drawing on their experience working with clients, they also provide practical guidance on how to navigate the challenges of redesigning an operating model to unlock value in a rapidly changing business environment.

Julie Goran is a partner in our New York office and leads our digital organization work in our People & Organizational Performance and Financial Services Practices. She helps executives transform organizations to pursue growth and seize digital opportunities.

Richard (Dickie) Steele is a partner also based in our New York office. He designs and delivers purpose-driven transformation programs and is an expert in culture change, organizational agility, and using design-thinking to remake employee experiences and drive improved performance and organizational health

Related insights

A new operating model for a new world

Gen AI’s next inflection point: From employee experimentation to organizational transformation

How Strategy Champions win

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275. M&A update: Dealmaking is higher, despite volatility

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:20:09 +0000

After several years of slowed activity, mergers and acquisitions picked up in the first half of 2025, as disciplined dealmakers reentered the market despite continued uncertainty. In this episode, three McKinsey M&A experts share their recent analysis of global dealmaking, explore the continued outperformance of programmatic acquirers, and weigh in on what the rest of the year’s transactions might look like once the data are finalized.

Jake Henry is a senior partner in our Chicago office and the global co-leader of our M&A Practice. He serves clients on M&A strategy, integration, separations, due diligence, and JVs and alliances. Patrick McCurdy is a partner in our Boston office and a leader of our M&A Strategy and Due Diligence work. He serves clients across industries, advising clients on how to leverage M&A as a differentiated capability. Luke Carter is an associate partner in our New York office and co-leads our M&A capability building work, as well as our annual M&A capability survey and our corresponding research into the habits of programmatic acquirers.

Rich in resilience: Dealmakers deliver strong first-half results in M&A

The seven habits of programmatic acquirers

Time to revisit your M&A strategy

The portfolio management imperative and its M&A implications

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274. How Nestlé’s CFO sharpens focus across a global portfolio

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 03:53:10 +0000

The CFO’s challenge has long been one of translating data into a story that the CEO and their management team can use to set strategy and make other decisions. As generative AI advances, the way that CFOs fulfil this role is changing, as guest and Nestlé CFO Anna Manz describes in this episode. Michael Birshan, a senior partner who leads our firm in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Israel, and host Sean Brown, speak with Manz about how she uses AI now and plans to in the future, the impact of geopolitics on Nestlé's operations, and the CFO’s role in integrating the executive team in strategic decision-making and resource allocation.

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What an AI-powered finance function of the future looks like

Generative AI in finance: Finding the way to faster, deeper insights

How finance skills are evolving in the era of artificial intelligence

McKinsey Insights on the CFO role

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273. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian: Lessons from the captain’s seat

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:31:48 +0000

Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines since 2016, speaks with our North America Chair and senior partner Eric Kutcher. After 25 years at Delta, including nearly a decade as CEO, Ed reflects on his journey leading the world’s largest airline by revenue—and America’s most recognized carrier, with more than 100,000 employees. The industry was hit hard by the pandemic, and he shares insights on what it takes to get through turbulent times, and keeping his people happy and invested in the company’s success. Ed also talks about leading with the vulnerability to say, “I don’t know,” and the confidence to say, “We’re going to figure it out”.

We recorded their conversation before a live client audience at our Global Strategy Summit in September 2025

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Doug Parker, former chairman and CEO of American Airlines, shares leadership lessons
John Stankey talks about leaning into the long term at AT&T

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272. Clear signals in a world of noise: The strategic realities of a new era

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 03:15:12 +0000

Uncertainty often dominates the headlines, but it is possible to cut through the static to find clear signals in the global trends and demographic shifts shaping the next era of global competition. In this episode, senior partners Chris Bradley and Andy West share their latest research into the strategic realities of a new era: the shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world, rapid technological advancements, demographic changes, the productivity imperative, and the role of energy in shaping the future. Together, these insights can guide business leaders as they design and mobilize today’s strategic moves to thrive in the future.

Andy West is the global coleader of our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice and a senior partner based in our Boston office. Chris Bradley serves as a director of the McKinsey Global Institute and is a senior partner based in our Sydney Office.

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The great trade rearrangement

The power of one: How standout firms grow national productivity

The next big arenas of competition

Dependency and depopulation? Confronting the consequences of a new demographic reality

McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2025

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271. Mastering the cycles of CEO leadership: Starting strong, and staying ahead

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 06:54:26 +0000

In this second episode of our two-part series on navigating the four seasons of successful CEO leadership, Carolyn Dewar and Kurt Strovink, two of the authors of the upcoming book A CEO For All Seasons, share insights drawn from top-performing CEOs on how to navigate the middle two stages of CEO leadership—starting strong as a new CEO and staying ahead—to maintain long-term effectiveness while at the top.

Carolyn Dewar, a coauthor of the New York Times bestselling CEO Excellence, is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and founded and co-leads the firm’s global CEO excellence client service line. She is a frequent keynote speaker on leadership and transformation.

Kurt Strovink, a coauthor of the national bestseller The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Lead from the Inside Out, is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. Kurt leads the firm’s global CEO services practice and is also a member of McKinsey’s Board of Directors.

Related insights

A CEO for All Season: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

Sending it forward: Successfully transitioning out of the CEO role

Staying ahead: How the best CEOs continually improve performance

Stepping up: Becoming a high-potential CEO candidate

Starting strong: Making your CEO transition a catalyst for renewal

The inner game of women CEOs

The CEO’s essential checklist: Questions every chief executive should be able to answer

Leadership lessons from the world’s best CEOs

Serving a greater purpose: CEO Excellence revisited

Building leaders from the ground up

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets that Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

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270. Mastering the cycles of CEO leadership: Stepping up and sending it forward

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 03:30:54 +0000

In the high-stakes world of corporate leadership, becoming a Fortune 500 CEO is an Everest-like ascent, with only the savviest succeeding across every stage of the journey. Carolyn Dewar, Vik Malhotra, and Kurt Strovink, authors of the upcoming book A CEO For All Seasons, join Sean to share insights from top-performing CEOs on navigating the first and fourth stages of CEO leadership – preparing for the role and fortifying a legacy, in the first of two episodes based on the new book.

Carolyn Dewar, a coauthor of the New York Times bestselling CEO Excellence, is a senior partner at McKinsey and founded and co-leads the firm’s global CEO excellence client service line. She is a frequent keynote speaker on leadership and transformation.

Vikram (Vik) Malhotra, a coauthor of CEO Excellence, is a senior partner at McKinsey where he has worked since 1986. He has served on McKinsey’s Board of Directors and as McKinsey’s Managing Partner of the Americas.

Kurt Strovink is a senior partner at McKinsey and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. He also leads McKinsey’s global CEO services practice and coauthored the national bestseller The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Lead from the Inside Out.

Related insights

A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

Sending it forward: Successfully transitioning out of the CEO role

Staying ahead: How the best CEOs continually improve performance

Stepping up: Becoming a high-potential CEO candidate

Starting strong: Making your CEO transition a catalyst for renewal

The inner game of women CEOs

The CEO’s essential checklist: Questions every chief executive should be able to answer

Leadership lessons from the world’s best CEOs

Serving a greater purpose: CEO Excellence revisited

Building leaders from the ground up

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets that Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

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269. Strategy under geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 05:34:19 +0000

The current climate of geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty can complicate the strategy process and can make the idea of waiting for calmer times look attractive. But as our guests today point out, waiting out the storm is not an option. Instead, organizations need to make bold strategic moves rooted in a thorough understanding of how they create value and the market conditions they face.

In this episode, Sean is joined by Matt Watters, who is a leader in our Geopolitics, Government, and Strategy and Corporate Finance Practices and a partner in our New Jersey office. Matt’s work focuses on growth and innovation in industries with evolving global dynamics, including defense, space, semiconductors, high tech, and cybersecurity. Ezra Greenberg also joins the podcast and is a partner in our Connecticut office, where he advises executives and investors across multiple sectors on how macro forces and global trends impact critical strategy and investment decisions under uncertainty.

Related insights

In a moment of tariffs, can the world find balance and trust to thrive?

How American business can prosper in the new geopolitical era

Restricted: How export controls are reshaping markets

Tariffs on the move? A guide for CEOs for 2025 and beyond

A proactive approach to navigating geopolitics is essential to thrive

Strategy beyond the hockey stick: People, probabilities, and big moves beat the odds

Building geopolitical resilience: A conversation with Michèle Flournoy

Taking a proactive approach to geopolitics

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268. Accounting for carbon: SAP’s Dominik Asam on the CFO’s role

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Beyond reporting requirements and transparency imperatives, there’s a huge financial incentive to manage your company’s sustainability activities with data-driven business decision-making. To do so, efforts must be anchored in a data strategy that merges the financial and the ESG analysis. In this episode, Peter Spiller, a partner based in our Frankfurt office who co-leads our efforts in environmentally sustainable operations, speaks with Dominik Asam, Member of the Executive Board and CFO at enterprise planning software giant SAP. Dominik talks about his role in helping steer the company and their customers towards decarbonization, and how to balance the financial ledger with the sustainability ‘Green Ledger’ in a future-ready way that centers on driving real progress while protecting the bottom line.

Related insights
Managing carbon: A new role for the CFO

Toward the long term: CFO perspectives on the future of finance

Reaching net zero–what will it take?

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267. Cybersecurity for CFOs: Defending against an accelerating threat

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 12:30:00 +0000

In today’s fast-evolving cybersecurity landscape, organizations face bigger and bolder threats that have wide-reaching implications − from financial and customer data breaches, to third-party infiltration and disruption far down the supply chain. Hacking has become an organized business, and AI and quantum technologies are as much a part of the threat as they are the solution.

Charlie Lewis leads our North American and European cyber practices and is a partner in our Connecticut office. He supports clients on strategic cyber transformations. In this episode, Charlie speaks with Sean Brown about the critical role of CFOs in their organization’s cyber operations, the core foundations of cybersecurity, and the importance of organizations collaborating on improving security in a world of crime that has no borders.

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266. Transforming procurement to transform your business

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Procurement can play a crucial role in driving a company's transformation, and leaders are now recognizing its potential to be a strategic enabler of change. In this episode of Inside the Strategy Room, we explore the key findings from our recent McKinsey.com article titled “Aim higher and move faster for successful procurement-led transformation”. Teresa George, a partner in our Chicago office, Raul Santos, a partner in our Madrid office, and Cole Wirpel, an associate partner in our Atlanta office, join Sean to share insights on how procurement can be a catalyst for company-wide transformation and the essential capabilities required to achieve this goal.

Related insights

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How procurement leaders can bring metals and mining up to speed

The digital spend control tower: Shift spending mindsets at scale

Defining your ‘true north’: A road map to successful transformation

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265. The Josh Harris playbook: building cultures of excellence in business and sports

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:43:09 +0000

In 2022, Josh Harris founded 26North, an alternative asset management firm that has reached close to $30 billion in assets under management in its first 3 years. Josh also co-founded Apollo Global Management and Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment (HSBE) and is a prominent figure in the sports management arena. He has stakes in the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and Crystal Palace Football Club, amongst other teams.

In this episode, Josh speaks with our North America Chair and senior partner Eric Kutcher, sharing insights that span his high school wrestling years, to starting anew at the age of 55 with 26North. His thoughts on leadership, culture, and resilience traverse both the worlds of investment and sports.

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John Stankey talks about leaning into the long term at AT&T

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264. Creating value through separations

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 03:05:57 +0000

Divestiture is one of the least discussed aspects of M&A, and yet separations can be a highly effective way of creating value. In this week’s episode, Sean speaks with two McKinsey experts on separations and spin-offs about their latest research on the subject. Jamie Koenig coleads our separations and spin-off client work globally and is a partner in our New York office. He has more than a decade of experience helping clients navigate complex transactions, having worked on hundreds of deals, and has a particular passion for building new companies via spin-offs. Anna Mattsson is the global co-lead of our separations and spin-offs client service line. She is a partner in our Zurich office and has 20 years of experience helping clients deliver value through M&A, divestitures, and spin-offs. The two are co-authors of our recent article on separations.

Related insights

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The cost of (un)doing business

Why speed matters in divestitures

What it takes to make separations a competitive difference-maker

Active portfolio management: Five practical insights for value creation

The equity story you need for the long-term investors you want

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263. How Strategy Champions win

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 05:00:04 +0000

In this episode, Sean talks with four strategy experts who share the findings of their new research into the practices that separate companies that succeed at building and executing an excellent strategy from those that do not. You can read more about their research in the new McKinsey Quarterly article titled, How Strategy Champions win.

Alex D'Amico co-leads our strategy work globally and leads it in North America. He is a senior partner in our Connecticut office where he helps companies across industries shape enterprise strategy, undertake cultural transformations, rapidly boost performance, and redesign organizations to sustain results. Alejandro Krell co-leads our strategy work globally with Alex and leads our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice in Latin America. He is a senior partner in our Panama City office where he advises companies across the financial services, manufacturing, mining, retail, and telecom sectors on addressing strategic challenges and making lasting performance improvements. Semyon Yakovlev leads our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice across Asia and is a senior partner in our Seoul office. He serves clients on strategic and performance improvement programs, working with major banking groups, insurance companies, tech companies, and public sector institutions. Whitney Zimmerman is a core leader of our strategy work and an associate partner in our London office. He also leads our work on the role of the chief strategy officer, helping CSOs define and succeed in their roles, and he led our latest research on strategy capabilities and practices.

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How AI is transforming strategy development

Strategy to beat the odds

The strategy leader’s evolving mandate

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Rewired: The McKinsey guide to outcompeting in the age of digital and AI

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262. Workday’s CEO on driving growth and transformation in the age of AI

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Carl Eschenbach joined Workday in December 2022 to serve as co-CEO alongside Co-Founder Aneel Bhusri before becoming sole CEO in February 2024. In this episode, our North America Chair and senior partner, Eric Kutcher, talks with Carl about taking a ‘co-existence’ view of the role of AI in the workforce as a source of productivity, building an endurable company with a growth mindset culture, and the responsibility of leaders to serve the success of others.

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Palo Alto Networks CFO on AI, cybersecurity, and the finance leader’s mandate

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261. Retired US Navy Admiral Eric Olson: Leading effectively in uncertain times

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 23:00:51 +0000

In this episode, we speak with Eric Olson, a retired US Navy Admiral with a distinguished career in special operations, about the key principles of effective leadership, particularly in times of uncertainty. Eric shares insights from his experiences leading high-performing teams and organizations through complex challenges, offering valuable leadership lessons for executives in today's rapidly changing business landscape.

Related insights:

A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

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The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs learn to lead from the inside out

Trusted advice for effective leadership

The CEO as chief resilience officer

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260. Boosting growth through innovation

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:47:56 +0000

Even in a highly uncertain business environment, companies that build new businesses and develop new offerings, processes, and business models are better able to capture growth opportunities and hedge against disruption. Our recent survey of more than 1,000 companies around the world reflected this, with the largest share of respondents identifying the ability to innovate as their most important strategic factor for generating growth over the coming 12 months.

To discuss the survey and talk about the innovation activities top performers are focusing on today, Sean Brown is joined by Rebecca Doherty, Matt Banholzer, and Clayton O’Toole. Rebecca co-leads our Strategic Growth and Innovation practice and is a partner in our San Francisco office. She works extensively with health care, industrial, and technology clients to define and execute growth road maps. Matt co-leads our Global Strategic Growth and Innovation practice with Rebecca and is a senior partner in our Chicago office. He also sits on the leadership team of our business-building practice, and serves organizations on innovation strategy across a range of sectors, including energy, materials, and agriculture. Clayton is a leader in our Strategy & Corporate Finance and Consumer Tech and Media practices in North America and is a partner based in our Minnesota office. He serves a wide range of clients including media organizations, sports leagues; food, apparel, and hardlines retailers; consumer packaged goods companies, and principal investors.

Related Insights

How top performers use innovation to grow within and beyond the core

The eight essentials of innovation

Revolutionary innovations propelling growth

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259. Risk, Resilience, and Innovation: Insights from AXIS Capital's Vincent Tizzio

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Vince Tizzio is President and CEO of AXIS, a specialty insurance and reinsurance company that delivers customized solutions to organizations worldwide. Since taking on the role in May 2023, Vince has led AXIS on an ambitious transformation journey.

In this episode, he speaks with McKinsey senior partner and North America Chair Eric Kutcher about what it means to take on the CEO role, how to lead through significant change with conviction and care, the kind of exposures companies should consider in today’s complex risk landscape, and how to be deliberate about investing in AI.

Related Insights

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Transforming for growth

Stepping up: Becoming a high-potential CEO candidate

How boards can tackle geopolitical risk

H ow Judy Marks leads Otis Worldwide Corporation through uncertainty and technological evolution

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory

Author Talks: IBM’s Ginni Rometty on leading with ‘good power’

Getting fit for growth: The leadership mindsets and behaviors that matter

CEO Perspectives

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258. Andy Mattes on the challenges of driving M&A as CEO

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 03:04:13 +0000

Mergers and acquisitions are among the more complex processes new CEOs have to learn, whether they’re in the role for the first time or taking over at a new company. Andreas “Andy” W. Mattes has navigated this multiple times in his roles as CEO of Siemens Communications, Diebold, and later of Diebold Nixdorf, and now of the laser technology company Coherent. In this discussion with M&A practice leader Jake Henry, Andy talks about the roller-coaster ride that M&A can be, and the critical M&A skills he had to learn as a CEO, including how to best deal with competing bids and making time to commune with other CEOs.

Jake is the global co-leader of McKinsey’s M&A Practice, which includes mergers, acquisitions, integrations, joint ventures, and divestitures. He previously led our Life Sciences Practice globally, where he guided pharmaceutical and medical-technology company executives on matters of corporate strategy, growth strategy, and operational excellence for more than twenty years.

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Uncertainty in M&A: Postcards from the new normal

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CEO excellence: How do leaders assess their own performance?

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead From the Inside Out

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257. The new and timeless truths of valuation

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Measuring value creation is critical, as company leaders grapple with geopolitical shifts, digital disruption, and other trends affecting their businesses. Two co-authors of the new edition of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies join Sean today to discuss what they’ve learned over the course of writing and updating their book, which is now in its eighth edition, with more than 1 million copies sold worldwide

Author Tim Koller is a core leader in our Corporate Finance Practice and a Partner in our Denver office. In more than 40 years of consulting, he’s served clients globally on corporate strategy, capital markets, acquisitions, divestitures, and resource allocation. Co-author Marc Goedhart is a senior expert in our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice based in Amsterdam. He’s also an endowed professor of corporate valuation at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University in the Netherlands.

Related insights

Valuation 8th edition

Subscribe to The Valuation Practitioner newsletter on LinkedIn

Author Talks: What’s new in Valuation?

Bubbles pop, downturns stop

Bias Busters: Getting both sides of the story

Biases in decision-making: A guide for CFOs

Is your ‘conglomerate discount’ a performance discount or a communication problem?

Tying short-term decisions to long-term strategy

What I learned from Daniel Kahneman

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256. Doug Parker, former Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, shares leadership lessons

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 03:02:20 +0000

As CEO challenges go, facing a global threat that is existential not just for your company but for your industry is among the worst possible. American Airlines’ former Chairman and CEO, Doug Parker, has been through this twice while leading an airline, following the 9/11 attacks in New York and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, he speaks with McKinsey Senior Partner Celia Huber about how these experiences helped him become a better leader.

Doug Parker has served as CEO of three airlines: America West, US Airways, and American Airlines. He currently serves on the board of Qantas. Celia Huber is a McKinsey senior partner in our Bay Area office, where she leads our board services work in North America.

Related insights

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The State of Aviation 2025

Geopolitical resilience: The new board imperative

Resilience pulse check: Harnessing collaboration to navigate a volatile world

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255. Building transformation momentum through working capital optimization

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 04:41:43 +0000

Holistic transformations are complex and can take a long time to show full results. By optimizing working capital early on, companies can help score early wins to create momentum and excite stakeholders across the organization. In this episode, Sean talks with two McKinsey transformation experts about how to identify and achieve these working capital improvements to maximize the impact of a transformation.

Jacob Rüden is a partner in our Transformation Practice, based in Cologne, and he leads our cash excellence work globally. He has more than 20 years of experience serving clients in transformation and on cash and working capital engagements across sectors, including automotive, energy, chemicals, transportation, consumer goods, and retail. And Marvin Denis is an expert in our Transformation Practice, based in New York. He's a core member of our cash excellence service line and co-leader of our cash solutions globally. He works across sectors, including automotive, chemicals, consumer goods, and retail.

Related insights

Gain transformation momentum early by optimizing working capital

Building optionality: Balance sheet discipline is both timely and timeless

Succeeding in the AI supply-chain revolution

A data-driven approach to improving net working capital

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254. John Stankey, AT&T’s CEO and Chairman of the Board, on embracing long-term vision

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 11:30:00 +0000

John Stankey has led AT&T as CEO since July 2020, and was elected Chairman of the Board in February this year. Over his 40-year tenure, John has held multiple senior leadership roles across the breadth of AT&T’s businesses, including turns as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Technology Officer.

In this episode, John speaks with McKinsey senior partner and North America Chair Eric Kutcher about his journey at AT&T. They discuss how John pivoted the portfolio, how he trusted in long-term ‘big bets’ amidst the current wave of economic change, and the meaning of leaving a legacy at a 150-year-old company.

Related Insights

Becoming CEO, just in time for global crisis: David Gitlin, Chairman and CEO of Carrier Global Corporation

How boards can tackle geopolitical risk

H ow Judy Marks leads Otis Worldwide Corporation through uncertainty and technological evolution

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory

Author Talks: IBM’s Ginni Rometty on leading with ‘good power’

Getting fit for growth: The leadership mindsets and behaviors that matter

CEO Perspectives

The Strategic CEO

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253. Private capital gets more alternative

Thu, 29 May 2025 09:28:47 +0000

For many years, the continued rise of private markets has been defined by assets under management (AUM), while the composition of the industry evolved significantly. This week, two of McKinsey’s Private Capital Practice experts are joined by Neil Mehta from Apollo Global Management to discuss the diverse types of non-traditional private capital increasingly being raised by general partners (GPs), and how asset managers will need to continue to adapt to meet this growing complexity and the variety of needs that their investors are looking to them to solve.

McKinsey Senior Partner Alexander Edlich is a senior leader in McKinsey’s Private Capital Practice, and is based in New York. He’s the lead author of our 2025 Global Private Markets Review, and has more than two decades of experience advising financial services firms, including alternative asset managers and investors, on how to address ever-changing industry dynamics. McKinsey Partner Paul Maia co-leads McKinsey’s work on advising the C-suite of private capital GPs, as well as the private capital arms of institutional investors, and is based in Washington, D.C. Neil Mehta is a partner and global head of new markets at Apollo Global Management in New York, where he is responsible for driving growth into markets that have historically had limited exposure to private assets, including traditional asset management, defined contribution, and tax advantage strategies. Neil is also a member of Apollo’s leadership team.

Related insights

Alternative assets get more alternative: The rise of novel AUM forms

Global Private Markets Report 2025: Braced for shifting weather

Thematic investing: A win–win for private equity and the planet

Private capital: The key to boosting European competitiveness

McKinsey Insights on Private Capital

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252. Growth leader mindsets and behaviors

Thu, 22 May 2025 06:11:04 +0000

Although every company wants to grow, only one in four is able to do so profitably and maintain that growth over time. This week, Sean speaks with three of our growth experts about the mindsets and behaviors of successful growth outperformers.

Jill Zucker is a senior partner and former managing partner of our New York office. She co-leads our global growth transformation work and serves financial services firms, including wealth managers, asset managers, insurance companies, global banks, and private equity. Rebecca Doherty is a partner in our Bay Area office and co-leader of our global Strategic Growth and Innovation Practice. She works with healthcare, industrial, and technology clients to define and execute value-creating growth road maps. Kate Siegel is a partner in our Detroit office and a leader in our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice. She counsels CEOs and executive teams to develop holistic growth strategies, pursue organic and inorganic M&A, and attain profitable growth aspirations.

Related Insights

How top performers use innovation to grow within and beyond the core

Breaking the mold: Five behaviors of leading growth transformers

How to reignite growth through adjacencies

Innovative growers: A view from the top

Courageous growth: Six strategies for continuous growth outperformance

The triple play: Growth, profit, and sustainability

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251. Driving transformational behavior change at scale

Thu, 15 May 2025 05:05:15 +0000

Transformation is a complex undertaking that relies heavily on achieving behavioral change within an organization. Three McKinsey transformation and organizational health experts talk this week about the common pitfalls companies face when attempting to transform, and share tips for avoiding them.

Rajesh Krishnan is a senior partner in our New York office and a leader in our Transformation Practice. He counsels clients on identifying and delivering transformative and sustainable performance improvements, and is a founder of our capability building solution, the Ability to Execute or A2E. Tiffany Vogel is a partner in our Miami office, and is an expert in change management, leadership development, and agile product development. She focuses on financial institutions and state governments, and also serves on the faculty at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. And Matthew Schrimper is an associate partner in our Boston office. He helps clients improve performance through organizational change, and has expertise in large-scale transformations, culture and change management, as well as talent and operating model design.

Related insights

Breaking the mold: Five behaviors of leading growth transformers

Transformation with a capital T

How seven steps can help midsize industrials crack the transformation code

What does it take to run a healthy organization? Find out with this quiz

Help your employees find purpose—or watch them leave

What makes an organization ‘healthy’?

The yin and yang of organizational health

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250. Building geopolitical resilience: A conversation with Michèle Flournoy

Thu, 08 May 2025 12:30:00 +0000

In this episode, Michèle Flournoy joins Andy West to share her perspectives on how companies can build their geopolitical resilience. Michèle is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, a strategic advisory firm that helps CEOs and investors navigate geopolitical risks and opportunities. She served the US government as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to 2012 and was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense. In January 2007, Michèle co-founded the Center for a New American Security – a bipartisan think tank dedicated to developing strong, pragmatic, and principled national security policies. She served as its President until 2009, returned as CEO in 2014, and today serves as the Chair. Andy West is a senior partner and the global coleader of our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice. Comments and opinions expressed by interviewees are their own and do not represent or reflect the opinions, policies, or positions of McKinsey & Company or have its endorsement.

Related Insights

Tariffs and global trade: The economic impact on business

Navigating tariffs with a geopolitical nerve center

Tariffs on the move? A guide for CEOs for 2025 and beyond

How American business can prosper in the new geopolitical era.

Insights from McKinsey and Company’s Geopolitics Practice

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249. Becoming CEO, just in time for global crisis: David Gitlin, Chairman and CEO of Carrier Global Corporation

Fri, 02 May 2025 12:30:00 +0000

David Gitlin is Chairman and CEO of Carrier Global Corporation, a global leader in intelligent climate and energy solutions. With prior senior leadership roles in aerospace and manufacturing and extensive expertise across safety and operational excellence, David led the much-lauded 2020 Carrier spin-off from United Technologies—as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, McKinsey senior partner and North America Chair, Eric Kutcher, talks with David about his journey as a CEO during a crisis, and explores his insights on rallying leadership, the board, and 50,000 employees across 160 countries to excel in their roles.

This podcast was recorded on March 31, 2025.

Related insights

How Judy Marks leads Otis Worldwide Corporation through uncertainty and technological evolution
The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory
Author Talks: IBM’s Ginni Rometty on leading with ‘good power’
Getting fit for growth: The leadership mindsets and behaviors that matter
CEO Perspectives

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248. Taking a proactive approach to geopolitics

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 07:57:08 +0000

As geopolitical trends bring increased uncertainty and risk, CEOs and other business leaders can take action to get and stay ahead of it all. This week Sean speaks with three McKinsey experts on geopolitical risk about how organizations can build resilience to address continued global uncertainty.

Cindy Levy is a senior partner in our London office and the global co-leader of our Geopolitics Practice. She previously led our Global Risk and Resilience and our United Kingdom Financial Services Practices, and she works with financial institutions on strategy, corporate finance, enterprise risk management, and culture. Shubham Singhal is a senior partner in our Detroit office and co-leads our Geopolitics Practice with Cindy. He previously led our healthcare, public sector, and social sector practices, as well as our efforts to help clients respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Olivia White is a senior partner in our Bay Area office and a director of the McKinsey Global Institute. She advises leading financial institutions and other global firms on a wide range of issues across strategy, growth, risk and resilience.

Related insights

How American business can prosper in the new geopolitical era

Navigating the new geopolitical uncertainty

Geopolitics and the geometry of global trade: 2025 update

Tariffs on the move? A guide for CEOs for 2025 and beyond

A proactive approach to navigating geopolitics is essential to thrive

Dependency and depopulation? Confronting the consequences of a new demographic reality

Can your company remain global and if so, how?

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247. Transforming for growth

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 05:26:14 +0000

Companies often aim for growth or transformation, but it's less common for them to pursue transformation as a means of achieving growth. This week, three McKinsey experts share their research into how the one in four companies that outperform use transformation to achieve growth beyond that of their peers.

Sandra Sancier-Sultan is a senior partner based in Paris and a leader in McKinsey’s Transformation, Sustainability, and Financial Services practices. Rebecca Doherty is a partner in our San Francisco Bay Area office and co-leader of our global Strategic Growth and Innovation Practice, and Louisa Greco is a partner in our Toronto office and a leader in our Transformation Practice.

Related insights

Breaking the mold: Five behaviors of leading growth transformers

Choosing to grow: The leader’s blueprint

Courageous growth: Six strategies for continuous growth outperformance

Eight lessons on how to get the growth you planned

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246. Alok Sama on corporate finance in the fast lane

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 02:39:12 +0000

Alok Sama spent years in corporate finance and as a managing director at Morgan Stanley before joining Softbank as CFO and plunging into founder-CEO Masayoshi Son’s world of high-speed, high-risk decision making. For Sama, the shift involved many eye-opening experiences, which he later shared in a memoir, titled The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble (St. Martin’s Press, 2024).

In this episode, Sama speaks with McKinsey senior partner Vik Malhotra, who is based in our New York office, where he counsels CEOs and corporate boards and serves as our firm’s Chairman of the Americas. Vik is also a co-author of the New York Times bestseller, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest. The two talked about what it was like to work with SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, negotiating deals such as Softbank’s $32 billion acquisition of the British chip design company Arm Holdings, and why Alok decided to return to school in his 50s to earn a master’s degree in fine arts.

Related Insights

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.

The CEO as elite athlete: What business leaders can learn from modern sports

How AI is transforming strategy development

Palo Alto Networks CFO on AI, cybersecurity, and the finance leader’s mandate

Achieving growth: Putting leadership mindsets and behaviors into action

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245. The six habits of successful risk leaders

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 02:40:45 +0000

To succeed today, chief risk officers (CRO) and other risk leaders must exert more influence and build organizational resilience in an increasingly complex risk environment. Today’s guests share the key practices that set top risk leaders apart, as CROs shift from traditional risk managers to influential figures driving resilience and organizational success.

Ida Kristensen is the global co-leader of our Risk and Resilience Practice and senior partner in our New York office. She advises clients across sectors on a variety of topics spanning enterprise risk management, resilience, organization and talent, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and operational improvement. Ritesh Jain is a partner based in our New York office and a leader in our Risk and Resilience Practice. He advises financial institutions on their risk and resilience priorities with a focus on enterprise risk management, operational risk, and transforming the frontline risk and control environment. We are also joined by Naba Banerjee, currently Chief Product and Experience Officer at CLEAR and formerly a senior advisor to McKinsey and the Global Head of Trust and Safety at Airbnb, where she led a team responsible for industry-defining solutions that reduced fraud and safety incidents by over 50%.

Related Insights

The six habits of highly successful chief risk officers

Risk and resilience priorities, as told by chief risk officers

Helping boards manage geopolitical risk with Jon Huntsman Jr.

How ambidextrous leaders manage through volatile times

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244. Filling the gap between innovation and go-to-market, with AWS’s Jelena Joffe

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:21:01 +0000

McKinsey innovation leader Erik Roth speaks with Jelena Joffe Weil, the founder and worldwide leader of the Venture Innovation program at Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud computing arm, about how AWS works to close the gap between innovation and go-to-market for start-ups and large enterprises. The global hyperscaler is known for helping businesses grow and scale rapidly, but it also helps start-ups and established enterprises find each other to engage in open, or collaborative, innovation.

Related Insights

The Committed Innovator podcast

Filling the gap between innovation and go to market

Driving innovation with generative AI

Taking fear out of innovation

How to take the measure of innovation

Fielding high-performing innovation teams

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243. A road map to successful transformation

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:13:13 +0000

Business transformation has evolved markedly in recent years as technology and the pace of change reshape the landscape organizations face. Once a byword for cost-cutting, transformation now more readily incorporates bold, strategic goals. Today, we discuss the core elements of a successful transformation and how to confront some of the common challenges.

We are joined by three deeply experienced leaders from our Transformation Practice to discuss how transformation has evolved over the years. Kevin Carmody is a senior partner based in our Chicago office and works with management teams, boards of directors, and other stakeholders on complex performance transformations, strategy, change management programs, and corporate finance. Louisa Greco is a partner in our Toronto office and focuses on driving broad-scale transformations, commercial improvement, growth and innovation, and organizational effectiveness. Rob Montgomery is a partner in our San Francisco office and has designed and led comprehensive transformations across industries. All our guests have served in senior executive and chief transformation officer roles.

Related Insights

Defining your ‘true north’: A road map to successful transformation

Ready, set, go, and keep going: Why speed is key to a successful transformation

Breaking the mold: Five behaviors of leading growth transformers

Meet the newest member of the consumer C-suite: The chief transformation officer

Driving long-term business transformation

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242. Planning for the next wave of M&A

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 05:34:07 +0000

This week we speak with the authors of our latest Annual M&A Report about trends in the deal landscape and what we might expect from 2025. Will the much-anticipated increase in transactions finally materialize? Or will players continue to hold onto their dry powder, waiting for the ongoing uncertainty that we’ve seen since the pandemic to settle down? McKinsey senior partners Mieke Van Oostende and Jake Henry co-lead our M&A practice, and in this episode, they share findings and observations from their latest report.

Related insights:

How one approach to M&A is more likely to create value than all others

How lots of small M&A deals add up to big value

The seven habits of programmatic acquirers

How AI is transforming strategy development

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241. The path forward for private equity

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 07:19:48 +0000

Despite persistent uncertainty in global markets, 2024 was the year that private equity began to emerge from a multi-year fog, with a rebound in dealmaking and distributions. Our Global Private Markets Report for 2025 revealed an industry that is more resilient, more innovative, and perhaps stronger than before. To discuss the nuances of that report we are joined by two of the report’s authors, Alex Edlich and Christopher Croke.

Alex is a senior partner in our New York office where he helps private equity and financial services clients achieve superior performance, by driving innovation with new technology. He is a senior leader in our Financial Services, Private Capital, and Digital Practices. Christopher Croke is a partner in our London office, where he is a leader in our Private Capital Practice. He advises private equity firms on their investments and strategy and helps the companies they own with their strategy and value creation.

Related insights

Global Private Markets Report 2025: Private equity emerging from the fog

Insights on Private Capital

Deal Volume Podcast

CEO alpha: A new approach to generating private equity outperformance

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240. Improving strategy with AI

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000

A key challenge to developing corporate strategy is moving quickly enough with the right insights to gain and maintain a competitive edge. Generative AI can help with this, as our guests this week describe.In this episode, we talk with three strategy experts about their research into using gen AI to help develop corporate strategy and the successes and challenges they encountered.

Bruce Delteil is the managing partner of our Vietnam office and leads our Strategy Practice in Asia. He serves clients on all aspects of strategy development, including scenario planning, visioning, war games, and the impact of gen AI. Antoine Montard is our Strategy Practice director of client capabilities based in Lisbon. He leads our Strategy, Research, and Insight Center and helps develop novel approaches for strategy, builds capabilities of teams and clients, and serves as a strategy expert on client projects. Andrea Tricoli is an associate partner in our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice based in London. He leads our initiative to apply generative AI to our Strategy Method. He serves organizations on how to use analytics and AI to drive better decision-making, especially across the finance and strategy functions.

Related Insights

How AI is transforming strategy development

Four critical strategies for sustainable gen AI adoption

Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick

Why strategists should embrace imperfection

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory

Achieving growth: Putting leadership mindsets and behaviors into action

Six strategies for growth outperformance

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239. CEO perspectives: Jim Fitterling, Chair and CEO of Dow Inc.

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Innovation and transformation become critical imperatives for many organizations, especially as they grow larger and mature. The complex merger and series of spin-offs that Dow Inc. underwent with E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company between 2017 and 2018 is among the more dramatic of such reinventions. The move to create a materials science company (Dow), an agricultural business (Corteva), and an industrial company (Dupont), remains a much-studied growth strategy case.

In this episode, Dow Inc. Chair and CEO Jim Fitterling talks with McKinsey Senior Partner and Global Energy and Materials Practice leader John Warner about why the “merge-spin” made sense then and now, and about leading a global company with compassion in a rapidly changing world.

Related insights

How Dow reinvented itself

Getting fit for growth: The leadership mindsets and behaviors that matter

The Committed Innovator: A conversation with Neal Gutterson of Corteva

The making of a megadeal: Howard Ungerleider on the merger of Dow and DuPont

Top M&A trends in 2024: Blueprint for success in the next wave of deals

How one approach to M&A is more likely to create value than all others

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238. How leading CEOs excel at stakeholder engagement

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

The best leaders are masterful communicators. They advance the aspirations of their companies with compelling, singular narratives that inspire a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. In this episode, we’re joined by three CEO and stakeholder relations experts who share their research into how CEOs can foster deeper dialogues and more meaningful connections with their wide range of stakeholders. Blair Epstein is a partner in our Bay Area office and a leader in our CEO Excellence Practice. Julia McClatchy is a partner in our Philadelphia office and a leader in our Growth, Marketing, and Sales Practice, and Eric Sherman is an expert based in our New York office who co-leads our CEO communications work.

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How the best CEOs build lasting stakeholder relationships

The CEO’s essential checklist: Questions every chief executive should be able to answer

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinquish the Best Leaders from the Rest

The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead From the Inside Out

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237. How Judy Marks leads Otis Worldwide Corporation through all manner of change

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Judy Marks is one of the few dozen women who lead Fortune 500 companies. She joined Connecticut-based Otis Elevator in 2017 as President, and was appointed CEO in 2019. After leading the company’s 2020 spinoff to become an independent publicly traded company, she was appointed Chair as well. Additionally, Judy serves on the board of Caterpillar.

In this episode McKinsey Senior Partner and North America Chair Eric Kutcher talks with Judy about how she thinks about geopolitical shifts, technological change, and leading 71,000 employees in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe.

Related insights

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory

A business of its times: Haier’s self-evolving organization

Author Talks: IBM’s Ginni Rometty on leading with ‘good power’

Getting fit for growth: The leadership mindsets and behaviors that matter

Opening doors for women leaders: An interview with Caroline Feeney

CEO Perspectives

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236. How corporate boards are responding to their changing role

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 05:51:52 +0000

Corporate boards face increasing complexity as factors such as technological and geopolitical change challenge the organizations they serve. At the same time, boards are expected to do more, including to serve as catalysts of value creation. In this episode we talk with three experts on board effectiveness about their research: Senior partners Frithjof Lund and Celia Huber lead McKinsey’s Board Services Practice, together with senior expert Nina Spielmann. Their recently published analysis, “Better together: Three ways to boost board–CEO collaboration,” looks at the ways boards can do more to help advance the corporations they steward.

Related insights

The rising complexity of board directorship

Ready to board: Ascending new heights through CEO-board communication

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235. Reimagining board communications

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 01:20:02 +0000

We discuss the role of technology in improving board communications, the challenges boards face in managing information, and how AI and cloud-based platforms can help streamline board meetings and improve decision-making.

Our guests are Niamh Corbett, the Head of Americas for Board Intelligence, McKinsey senior partner Celia Huber, who leads our North American Board Services Practice, and actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur Edward Norton, who is also the co-founder and head of strategy at Zeck—a cloud-based software platform designed specifically for boards.

Related insights

Better together: Three ways to boost board–CEO collaboration

The rising complexity of board directorship

Ready to board: Ascending new heights through CEO-board communication

Zeck is software that reimagines the board meeting process to improve decision-making for boards, investors, and management teams.

Board Intelligence provides management reporting software and a board portal that unlocks your business’s performance and governance.

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What an AI-powered finance function of the future looks like

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 13:30:00 +0000

In this bonus episode of Inside the Strategy Room, we feature an interview with OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar from the At the Edge podcast. Sarah joined our senior partner, Lareina Yee, to discuss how to lead through this era of intense technological change and what it means for the future of the finance function and business leadership.

Our At the Edge podcast features conversations with creative leaders and pioneers who demystify cutting-edge technologies and share strategies for companies to capture big opportunities.

Related insights

At the Edge podcast

Keeping artificial intelligence real

Cisco Systems CFO on M&A, geopolitics, and the emerging AI opportunity

Managing the risks around generative AI

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233. Building the will to transform: The importance of communication in transformations

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:30:00 +0000

The way leaders talk about the goals and process of transformation has a profound influence on outcomes.

The process of transformation can challenge any organization that undertakes it. In this episode, McKinsey transformation experts John Parsons, Dominic Skerritt, and Mary Lass Stewart talk about the role of communication to engaging and keeping team members on board and energized throughout the process. The trio recently co-authored an article on the subject, Going all in: Why employee ‘will’ can make or break transformations.

Related insights

How to communicate effectively in times of uncertainty

To deliver a transformation’s full potential, put the front line first

The powerful role financial incentives can play in a transformation

How many people are really needed in a transformation?

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232. Best of 2024 - What’s new in strategy: A view from the frontlines

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Senior partners Alex D’Amico, Michael Birshan, and Andy West join us for a conversation about the latest developments in the field of strategy. They discuss how generative AI will change strategy creation, the importance of developing distinctive insights as part of the strategy process, and how to avoid social dynamics from derailing your organization’s best-laid plans.

Related insights:

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231. Best of 2024 - Why strategists should embrace imperfection

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 13:30:00 +0000

We're joined by Charles Conn and Rob McLean, AM, the co-authors of The Imperfectionists: Strategic Mindsets for Uncertain Times.

Charles is an investor, environmentalist, and entrepreneur. He co-founded Monograph, a venture firm, and was previously CEO of the Rhodes Trust in Oxford. He is the Board Chair of Patagonia and sits on The Nature Conservancy European Council. He was the founding CEO of Ticketmaster-Citysearch and a partner at McKinsey & Company.

Rob is a Director Emeritus of McKinsey & Company, a Trustee of The Nature Conservancy in Australia and Asia, and a Director of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Australia’s largest philanthropic foundation. He is the former Dean of the Australian Graduate School of Management. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Rob and Charles' books can be found here: https://bulletproofproblemsolving.com/

You can also listen to their previous interview on Inside the Strategy Room or read the edited transcript on McKinsey.com.

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230. How boards can tackle geopolitical risk

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 13:30:00 +0000

Corporate boards face increased complexity today, with heightened geopolitical risk key among the concerns they must consider as they guide the companies they serve. In this episode, three experts on boards and geopolitics discuss how boards can best adapt to this new normal. Dominic Barton is board chair for the metals and mining company Rio Tinto, and also for the impact investment firm Leapfrog investments. He's also a senior advisor and partner at the AI investment firm Radical Ventures. Previously, Dom served as Canada’s ambassador to China. And before that he was a McKinsey senior partner who served as our global managing partner for three terms. Frithjof Lund is a senior partner who leads our Board Services Practice as well as our Norway office. He helps boards of directors improve corporate governance. Ziad Haider is a partner and our global director of geopolitical risk. He is based in our Singapore office, and counsels CXOs and boards on how to build out their capabilities to better understand, monitor, and mitigate geopolitical risk.

Related insights

Eye in the sky: Launching a geopolitical risk unit

Building geopolitical resilience: The people agenda

Geopolitical risk: Navigating a world in flux

Helping boards manage geopolitical risk with Jon Huntsman Jr.

How global companies can manage geopolitical risk

How three global companies navigate geopolitical risk to build resilience

Can your company remain global and if so, how?

Black swans, gray rhinos, and silver linings: Anticipating geopolitical risks (and openings)

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McKinsey Geopolitics

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229. How to sustain transformation success

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Too often, business transformation is treated as a short-term exercise or financial goal. In this episode, three of our transformation experts share the core elements of a sustained transformation, in which mindsets shift, expectations change, and new heights are reached.

Stephan Görner is a senior partner and the global co-leader of our Transformation Practice. He was joined by senior partner Michael Bucy and associate partner Rachel McKlindon.

Related insights

Sustaining the momentum of a transformation

Why isn’t your transformation showing up in the bottom line?

What is business transformation?

Losing from day one: Why even successful transformations fall short

To deliver a transformation’s full potential, put the front line first

The powerful role financial incentives can play in a transformation

How many people are really needed in a transformation?

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228. How talent drives value in private capital

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Sourcing and retaining talent is an evergreen challenge for companies, and it is even more important to realizing value creation goals in private capital backed companies. In this episode we hear from two of our experts on the subject. Marla Capozzi is a partner in our Boston office and a leader and founder of CEO Alpha, our initiative to deliver outperformance for private company CEOs and future leaders. At the time of recording, Dr. Claudy Jules was a partner in our Washington, DC, office and a leader in our private capital practice. He has since left our firm.

Related Insights

McKinsey insights on private capital

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders From the Rest

Achieving hypergrowth: It’s all about the people

Chief performance officers can be a secret ingredient for private equity success. Here’s why

Five alphas: Essential capabilities to succeed in the next era of private capital

CEO alpha: A new approach to generating private equity outperformance

The CEO alpha: The advantages of exceptional leadership

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227. Retired CIA Director John Brennan: Why modernization is ‘never over’

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 23:36:16 +0000

Organizations often struggle to adapt to change, whether technological, economic, or geopolitical. Yet change is inevitable, especially as technology evolves. This week, we are joined by retired Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, who, from 2013 to 2017, transformed the agency’s organizational structure to better meet its full potential. John spoke with Megan McConnell, a partner based in our Washington D.C office who assists large, complex institutions in transforming how they run their organizations.

Related Insights

Insights on Transformation on www.mckinsey.com

Defining your ‘true north’: A road map to successful transformation

How to gain and sustain a competitive edge through transformation

Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st-century organizations

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226. Helping India’s e-commerce leapfrog into the future

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000

McKinsey innovation leader Erik Roth speaks with Shiprocket cofounder and CEO Saahil Goel about how he built his e-commerce logistics company into a highly successful platform that is helping launch new entrepreneurs all over India.

Related Insights

Follow The Committed Innovator podcast: https://omny.fm/shows/the-committed-innovator

Read the transcript: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/helping-indias-e-commerce-leapfrog-into-the-future

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225. Alex Gorsky, former chair and CEO of Johnson & Johnson

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:58:30 +0000

This week, we feature a conversation between Alex Gorsky, former chair and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, and Andy West, senior partner and global coleader of our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice.

Alex discusses his approach to developing strategy, the challenges and rewards of developing a successful innovation and M&A pipeline, and his approach to decision-making and building a star team.

Related Insights

CEO Excellence

Top M&A trends in 2024: Blueprint for success in the next wave of deals

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224. Strategies to navigate geopolitical uncertainty

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 21:00:00 +0000

This week, we discuss strategies for navigating geopolitical uncertainty with the authors of a recent article on the subject. Michael Birshan is a senior partner and co-leads our Strategy & Corporate Finance practice globally and also serves on the McKinsey Global Institute Council, Ziad Haider is a partner and our global director of geopolitical risk, and Olivia White is a senior partner and director of our business and economics research arm, the McKinsey Global Institute.

Related insights:

Can your company remain global and if so, how?

Black swans, gray rhinos, and silver linings: Anticipating geopolitical risks (and openings)

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223. What’s new in strategy: A view from the frontlines

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 22:00:00 +0000

Related insights:

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222. Investor perspective: A conversation with BlackRock’s Sandy Boss

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000

This week, Sandy Boss, Senior Managing Director at global investment firm BlackRock and Chair of BlackRock UK, joins us on the podcast. In a conversation with Michael Birshan, a senior partner and the global coleader of our Strategy & Corporate Finance Practice, Sandy shares her insights on geopolitics and the energy transition as well as her ‘five Cs’ for CFOs looking to take an investor’s perspective. We recorded their conversation at a recent gathering for CFOs in London.

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221. Building a superpower: How to turn a capability into a competitive advantage

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 02:39:05 +0000

Companies have endless initiatives and plans, all with the promise to transform the organization and deliver attractive financial returns. However experience indicates companies should focus on building an institutional capability that has the power to separate them from the rest. To discuss how to build this superpower we’re joined by Brad Mendelson, a senior partner based in our Cleveland Ohio office, and Tova Katzir, a partner in our New York office.

What’s your superpower? How companies can build an institutional capability to achieve competitive advantage

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220. How gen AI can help accelerate M&A

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 05:09:45 +0000

We’re joined by three McKinsey M&A experts to discuss the ways that generative AI is being used to streamline and improve the M&A process, from target identification to deal execution. Ben Ellencweig leads our work in M&A, alliances, and partnerships globally for QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey. Rui Silva helps lead our work across a range of M&A topics, including how to execute large and complex integrations. Kyle Lefler helps clients with M&A strategy and execution across sectors including technology, digital intelligence, and consumer goods.

Related insights:

The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier

Rewired

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219. How leadership is changing for a changing world

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 03:55:16 +0000

This week, we’re joined by senior partners Kurt Strovink and Ramesh Srinivasan, coauthors, along with Hans-Werner Kaas and Dana Maor, of a new McKinsey book, The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out. It is the first-ever look behind the curtain at McKinsey’s step-by-step approach to helping leaders transform both professionally and personally. It introduces a new, more human-centric approach that is helping some of the best leaders achieve results by cultivating humility, confidence, vulnerability, and resilience in themselves and others.

Related insights:

The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out

Author Talks: A transformational approach to leadership

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218. Cisco Systems CFO on M&A, geopolitics, and the emerging AI opportunity

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 21:44:16 +0000

This week, we’re joined by Scott Herren, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cisco Systems, and Eric Kutcher, Senior Partner and Chair of McKinsey & Company, North America. They discuss the rationale for Cisco's recent acquisition, the role of CFOs in driving change within a company, the impact of AI on finance, and the current geopolitical and economic climate.

Related insights:

Palo Alto Networks CFO on AI, cybersecurity, and the finance leader’s mandate

Data, analytics, and decisions: An interview with Teradata’s CFO

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217. How CFOs raise their game in midtenure

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 07:55:28 +0000

This week, we return to the CFO journey and discuss how CFOs can drive outperformance in the middle years of their tenure. We’re joined by Ankur Agrawal, a partner in our New York office, a leader in our Strategy and Corporate Finance and Healthcare practices, and the leader of our CFO and finance service line in the Americas. Christian Grube is a partner in our Munich office, leader in our Strategy and Corporate Finance practice, and the leader of our CFO and finance service line in Europe. Arun Nayar’s career in finance spans more than 40 years. He was the former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Tyco International, the former CFO of global operations at PepsiCo, and he currently sits on the boards of GFL Environmental, Amcor, and Rite Aid.

Related insights:

Faster, smarter, bolder: How midtenure CFOs shift into a higher gear

The seasons of the CFO

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216. Making your strategic plan compelling to investors

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 12:30:00 +0000

This week, we discuss how companies can create value in today’s complex business environment and communicate that value effectively to investors by demonstrating strategic clarity and consistency amid uncertainty.

Our guests are Justin Sanders, a partner in New York and a leader in our Corporate Finance Practice, and Cassandre Danoux, a partner in London who leads our Joint Ventures and Alliances Practice.

Related insights

What your most important investors need to know

Maximizing the impact of your investor relations

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, 7th edition

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215. Air Canada CFO John Di Bert on managing uncertainty

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 23:57:44 +0000

This week, we are joined by John Di Bert, CFO of Air Canada, and John Kelleher, a senior partner based in Toronto and the global co-leader of our Finance and Capital Markets service line.

Recorded at our recent CFO forum in London, this discussion delves into how Air Canada is positioning itself for sustainable growth and stability, the key financial strategies that other CFOs can apply in similarly complex industries, the financial leadership required to navigate the inherent uncertainties of the airline industry, and the strategic vision necessary for long-term value creation.

Related Insights
Corporate finance and the CFO role
The Seasons of the CFO (including How to prepare for the CFO role)

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214. The secrets to outperforming in family-owned businesses

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 02:28:24 +0000

This week, we delve into a McKinsey.com report on family-owned businesses (FOBs) that demonstrates how, by combining four critical mindsets with five strategic actions, FOBs have a chance to quadruple their value in the next decade while maintaining resilience.

Our guests are Eduardo Asaf who is a partner in McKinsey’s Mexico City office, Acha Leke, who is a senior partner in our Johannesburg office, and Francesco Malatesta, who is a partner in our Dubai office.

Related insights:

The secrets of outperforming family-owned businesses: How they create value—and how you can become one

Insights on Private Capital

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213. Bonus: Starting a new CFO role

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 05:50:06 +0000

This week, Yuval Atsmon, the newly appointed head of McKinsey's finance function, joins us to share his perspectives on the chief finance role.

Yuval is also a client-serving senior partner in our firm's Technology, Media & Telecommunications, and Consumer Packaged Goods practices, where he’s focused on helping companies with growth-led transformations. Yuval is based in London, where we recorded our conversation during our 22nd annual global CFO forum.

Our conversation delves into the evolving role of CFOs and the challenges today’s finance leaders face, from managing uncertainty and volatility to strategic planning and performance management. We’ll also discuss the impact of generative AI on finance, exploring how it can transform traditional processes and decision-making.

Related Insights

Artificial intelligence in strategy

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212. Do you have what it takes to be a CFO?

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 06:49:13 +0000

Leading the finance function of a large company comes with a broad mandate requiring wide-ranging capabilities and experience. This week, three experts join us to explain how CFO hopefuls can acquire the credentials that matter most today.

Ankur Agrawal is a partner in our New York office and a leader in our Strategy and Corporate Finance and Healthcare Practices. He also heads our CFO and Finance Practice in the Americas

Dr Karolina Sauer-Sidor is a partner in our Madrid office and a leader in our Strategy and Corporate Finance, and Technology, Media, and Telecom Practices. She has led several finance transformations and supported multiple CFOs as they have started in the role.

Chris Halmy is the former Chief Financial Officer of Ally Financial. Chris was instrumental in restructuring Ally into a leading U.S. digital bank and consumer lender. Now retired from Ally, Chris sits on the boards of directors at Burford Capital, Western Alliance Bank, and Mercury Financial, and serves as a special advisor to McKinsey.

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