Inside the Strategy Room

Generative AI poses both risks and opportunities. Ida Kristensen and Oliver Bevan join us to discuss how we can mitigate the former while moving to capture the latter from day one. Ida Kristensen is a senior partner in our New York office. She coleads the Risk & Resilience Practice and advises leading financial institutions on cybersecurity, strategies for risk management, regulatory complianc...

M&A dealmakers have been on a wild ride. From the pandemic-fueled rout in 2020 to 2021’s record-breaking recovery, followed by a steep decline in 2023, the global M&A market has offered something of a masterclass in volatility. In this episode, we are joined by senior partners Jake Henry , Mieke Van Oostende , and Andy West to discuss the trends in the global M&A environment in 2024 an...

Private equity firms have a well-earned reputation for elevating the performance of the companies they invest in. A cornerstone of their strategy is a relentless pursuit of operational excellence to drive efficiency and productivity. In this episode, we analyze what public company CEOs can glean from the private equity playbook to enhance their own company's performance. Our guests are John Kelleh...

CEOs and CFOs are redefining their interactions with the board to ensure success in an era of rapid change. Joining us to delve into this growing trend of collaboration between CEOs, management teams, and boards are Celia Huber, leader of our North American board services practice, along with Michael Birshan and Andy West, the co-leaders of our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice.    Related r...

Innovation in a not-for-profit context involves measuring success in terms of returns on mission rather than returns to shareholders. In this episode, McKinsey innovation expert Erik Roth talks with Sajit Joseph, the chief innovation officer of the American Red Cross, about how the 142-year-old institution began and continues to carry out its innovation journey. Explore other episodes of The Commi...

Fewer than one in four companies outpace their industry peers on revenue and profit growth. We discuss new research that reveals the six mindsets and strategies that set these growth outperformers apart. We're joined by Rebecca Doherty , a partner in our Bay Area office and co-leader of our Strategic Growth and Innovation practice, Jill Zucker, a senior partner who co-leads our global growth trans...

Zane Rowe is the CFO of Workday , a California-based company that develops enterprise software for managing finance, HR, and planning. Workday has been growing rapidly, and its growth-oriented culture is a central theme of the discussion we recorded between Zane and McKinsey's CFO Eric Kutcher Listen to Eric's conversation with Palo Alto Network's CFO, Dipak Golechha: https://link.chtbl.com/SgZPqa...

Boards can play an essential role in engaging management teams to ensure they fully explore the potential of generative AI, even beyond their comfort zone. In this episode, we discuss the most important questions boards need to ask senior executives as their companies move to adopt this technology. Our guests are experienced in both technology and board practices.  Frithjof Lund is our managing pa...

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...

Many companies turn to transformation because their leaders seek to capture untapped potential or realize growth or efficiency gains. Yet transformations take work to get right. Our research shows less than a third of transformations reach their goals to improve organizational performance and sustain these improvements over time. To discuss how to beat those odds and sustain a holistic business tr...

A chief of staff can be instrumental to a CEO's success while also advancing their own career. While the role’s variability and intensity make it challenging, they also make it exciting. We're joined by Blair Epstein , Poppy Johnson , and Connor Rochford to discuss the eight pieces of advice they have distilled from hundreds of interviews with those who have mastered the role. Read the McKinsey.co...

We discuss the role M&A can play in the launch and success of large-scale transformations. Our guests are Chris Hagedorn and Alex Liu. Chris is a leader in our Transformation Practice, where he designs and executes comprehensive transformations, including M&A integration and value capture to achieve rapid and sustainable performance improvement for clients. Alex is a leader in our M&A...

In this episode, we share advice and insights for new CEOs about how they can make a strong start in the role. Sean Brown is joined by Carolyn Dewar , a senior partner in our San Francisco office who is the founder and co-leader of our CEO Excellence Practice. She is also a co-author of last year’s NY Times bestseller, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Res...

This shift from industry sectors to customer-focused ecosystems may be the largest economic reorganization in history. What role will your company play?  Global ecosystems are breaking down barriers separating traditional industries and organizing the economy around key customer needs. In this episode of Inside the Strategy Room, the co-authors of the new book The Ecosystem Economy: How to Lead in...

Scott Wine is the CEO of the multinational equipment manufacturer and services company, CNH Industrial . The company's brands include CASE and New Holland. Scott reflects on the challenges of leading a globally dispersed business, the critical importance of technology to agriculture, and what he learned from running the executive dining room for General Colin Powell. He spoke with senior partner C...

Boards are under increasing pressure to navigate a complex business environment, stay on top of accelerating technological advances, manage growing stakeholder expectations, and in some cases, set the organization's ambition level to catalyze change in close collaboration with management.  To discuss how the role of the board is developing in light of these challenges we're joined by Karen McLough...

Generative AI has been the hottest technology and business topic of 2023. Everyone knows that gen AI could be important, but how do you use it to create innovation that will genuinely advance your business? Joining us to address that question are Laura LaBerge and Matt Banholzer. Laura is the Global Director of our Growth Strategy and Innovation practice based in our Stamford, Connecticut office....

Dipak Golechha is the Chief Financial Officer of Palo Alto Networks , a leading cybersecurity company. This episode features a conversation between Dipak and Eric Kutcher , our own CFO. Dipak and Eric discuss their experiences around the expanding CFO mandate, what it’s like to lead the finance function in a highly volatile business environment, and how they’re grappling with AI and other new tech...

China’s economy and business landscape have been going through significant changes. We speak with three experts who will help us understand those shifts and how multinationals can adapt their strategies to succeed in China. Our guests are Franck Le Deu , a leader of our Life Sciences Practice in China, Joe Ngai , chairman of our offices in Greater China, and Junna Shi, a partner who advises Chines...

Great CEOs know that the transition to their successor will define their legacy and cement the strength of what they’ve built. We speak with three McKinsey experts about how the best CEOs prepare for the final phase of their tenure. We're joined by Carolyn Dewar , a senior partner in our Bay Area office, Blair Epstein, a partner also based in San Fransisco, and Kurt Strovink , a senior partner in...

The best CEOs find a new gear and sustain momentum and high performance after the heady first years in the job. We're joined by Kurt Strovink , a senior partner in our New York office, and Carolyn Dewar , a senior partner in our Bay Area office, to discuss the four ways CEOs can avoid complacency and create even more value in their mid-tenure.  Related Insights Staying ahead: How the best CEOs con...

For any company, having a CEO who makes effective, strategic decisions can help teams go far. CEOs who excel at this have what McKinsey senior partner Sacha Ghai calls “CEO alpha.” In today’s episode, Sacha speaks with Brian Vickery , a partner in our Boston office who hosts our Deal Volume podcast which is focused on private capital. During today’s discussion, they’ll cover a range of topics, inc...

Dr Richard Haass shares his perspectives on how business leaders can navigate today’s complex geopolitical landscape. Richard is a veteran diplomat and respected scholar of international relations. He has deep experience in geopolitics. His diplomatic service includes counseling Colin Powell in talks in Afghanistan and three years as the US envoy on peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. Richard...

Many organizations embark on large-scale transformations, only to end with frustrated leaders and worse-than-expected long-term results. That doesn't have to be the case. Success is attainable and organizations that excel at implementation tend to outperform their peers financially. What sets these top performers apart? Olalla Montes , Nick Robson , and Nick Waugh join us to answer that question. ...

Hopper has acquired 100 million mobile users by offering consumer-friendly financial products and a gamified app experience, according to cofounder Frederic Lalonde. In this episode, Frederic takes us on a journey and explains how Hopper transformed from a company with the bulk of its initial revenue coming from airline ticket sales into a travel fintech business—selling algorithmically enabled fi...