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...

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: Strategic courage in an age of volatility Tying short-term decisions to long-term strategy Strategy...

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.  Related...

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. Related insightsBuilding a...

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...

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...

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: The Seasons of the CFO Palo Alto Networks CFO on AI, cybersecurity, and the finance...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 today's episode, we discuss the top 10 questions boards should ask to ensure comprehensive cybersecurity oversight. We’re joined by Justin Greis, a partner in our Chicago office who leads McKinsey’s cybersecurity work in North America; Daniel Wallance, a senior expert in our New York office who focuses on cybersecurity and technology resilience in financial institutions, critical infrastructure companies, and public sector organizations; and Vinnie Liu, who is the CEO and co-founder of the...

We discuss the challenges and opportunities of building new businesses within an organization during a transformation. How should business leaders balance the need for transformation with pursuing new business ventures? What is the role of strategy in business reinvention? What evidence is there that optimizing the core business and building new businesses translates into higher performance?  Our guests are senior partner Chris Hagedorn and partners Matt Banholzer, and Ryan Nguyen. Related...

Innovation in online gaming requires keeping up with a broad mix of changes, including digital advances, audience desires, and artistic trends. In this episode, McKinsey innovation expert Erik Roth talks with Mihir Vaidya, the chief strategy officer of Electronic Arts, about these unique aspects of innovating in the gaming industry.   We hope Erik and Mihir’s conversation will be valuable for all executives grappling with the challenges of dynamic and strategic resource allocation and the...

In today's episode, we delve into practical strategies that organizations can implement to effectively manage and adapt during times of uncertainty. We explore a range of approaches, including scenario planning, risk management, cultivating leadership skills, and leveraging technology. Our guests also underscore the critical need for agility and swift decision-making when facing unpredictable conditions. We are joined by McKinsey senior advisor Rear Admiral Wyman Howard III (ret.), Mihir...

We are excited to present a special bonus episode of the Deal Volume podcast, which is produced by our Private Capital Practice. Our guest host for this episode is Brian Vickery, a partner in the practice who is joined by the practice's leaders, senior partners Fredrik Dahlqvist and David Quigley, to discuss key insights from the 2024 edition of our Global Private Markets Review. We hope you enjoy this discussion on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the private capital...

Today’s discussion covers several topics from our recent report on top M&A trends. We’re joined by senior partners Jake Henry and Mieke Van Oostende, who co-lead our M&A work globally, and senior partners Michael Birshan and Andy West, who co-lead our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice. We discuss the changing landscape of M&A, the shift from consolidation to growth and capability building, the importance of integration planning, the role of private equity, and the impact of...

The need for board-level strategic conversations on geopolitical risk is urgent. To discuss how boards can guide companies through an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, we’re joined by Jon Huntsman Jr. Jon is a former US governor and diplomat who has spent nearly two decades in US public service at the state, national, and international levels. He sits on the boards of Ford, Mobileye, and Chevron, and is also the Vice Chairman of MasterCard. We're also joined by Ziad Haider, a...

Midcap companies have vast opportunities to increase their performance and scale if they reinvent how they work. Midsize companies don’t dominate the headlines and investor attention the way large corporations do, but they represent more than 40 percent of the global workforce and account for approximately one-third of most economies’ GDP. However, the productivity of small and midsize businesses is only half that of large companies, and lower in emerging economies. These businesses have vast...

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 compliance, and operational improvement. Oliver Bevan is a partner in our Chicago office and a leader in...

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 and what they mean for business leaders. Jake and Mieke recently published a report on McKinsey.com,...

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 Kelleher and Radhika Ray.    John is a senior partner in our Private Equity Special Operations group...