McKinsey & Company

Assisting management in navigating today’s geopolitical complexity has become one of boards’ most important and difficult tasks. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, Ziad Haider, Celia Huber, and Jon Huntsman Jr. discuss how boards can address this challenge. Huntsman spent nearly two decades in US public service at the state, national, and international levels in roles including deputy assistant secretary of commerce for Asia and US ambassador…

Alistair Brownlee, two-time Olympic gold medalist, four-time triathlon world champion, three-time Ironman winner, and bestselling author, isn’t one to shy away from making a mantra his own: “If you want to achieve something no one has achieved before, you have to approach the challenge in a way no one has before.” In a keynote fireside chat at the Unleashing Disruptive Growth event in Barcelona, Alistair sat down with McKinsey’s Philipp…

With the coming of age of Gen Z—both as customers and new workforce entrants—customer demands are evolving. At the same time, generative AI (gen AI) is transforming how contact centers respond to these demands. Forward-thinking leaders must explore the latest trends, emphasize cohesive support strategies, and take actionable steps to enhance their customer care functions, addressing challenges such as service improvement, cost reduction, and sales function integration.In this episode of…

Data and AI leaders have been working feverishly on generative AI (gen AI) use cases for more than a year. Their experience has provided promising glimpses of the considerable value at stake in gen AI but has also exposed a variety of challenges in getting to scale. Managing data remains one of the main barriers to value creation from gen AI. In fact, 70 percent of top performers in a…

A shareholder activist tends to improve a company’s stock price during its campaigns—and sustains those gains for three years after the campaign is announced. But when one considers the period after an activist has exited its position, the picture becomes murkier. We examined almost 170 shareholder activist campaigns worldwide over the past ten years and found that after an activist had exited its position, three-year excess total shareholder returns (TSR) were…

3D image of people forming the shape of India and organized based on their clothing color creating the pattern of the national flag. India is a place of superlatives. It’s home to the world’s fifth-largest economy. Its population, at over 1.4 billion people, has surpassed China’s to become the largest in the world. And that population is young: at a median age of 27.6, Indians are on average more than…

Among tens of thousands of products, millions of customers, and an infinite number of outside forces shaping demand, how does one identify the next “it” beauty product—and get it in shoppers’ hands as quickly as they want it? While those questions were top of mind for Coty before the COVID-19 pandemic, the company first had to contend with stagnating revenues, inefficient operations, and runaway costs. The international beauty business—which owns…

The majority of people can now expect to grow older. By 2050, 1.6 billion people will be over the age of 65. The challenge—and opportunity—that comes with increased life expectancy is ensuring that those extra years are as healthy and productive as possible. It’s an attainable goal, asserts British economist Andrew J. Scott, if the global focus shifts from the notion of an aging society to that of a longevity…

As publishers of insights, we believe that reading books can be a powerful tool for learning, growing, and navigating the landscape of today’s complex business environment. And books can both illuminate and provide moments of respite from the demands of daily life. McKinsey Global Publishing leader Raju Narisetti returns with McKinsey’s 2024 annual book recommendations list—a McKinsey Global Publishing tradition—featuring suggestions from 50-plus CEOs and global leaders in media, nonprofit,…

Today’s insurers are exposed to multiple risks, from financial risks, such as shifting interest rates, changing costs and sources of capital, and increasing claims levels due to consecutive years of significant inflation, to an array of nonfinancial risks, including extreme climate events and generative AI (gen AI). This uncertain environment has spurred leaders to be more cautious but also more innovative in a way that still supports a path to…

Some technologies are so compelling that they quickly take on a life of their own. Generative AI (gen AI) made the leap from the laboratory to the mainstream in late 2022, when Open AI launched a public beta of its ChatGPT service. Within two months, it had more than 100 million users, making it the fastest-growing product in human history. By the first quarter of 2023, big technology companies were…

Consumers and businesses looking forward to the fillip of an interest rate cut may have to wait a little longer. Among our surveyed economies, only Brazil’s Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) cut its policy rate in May—but by just 0.25 percentage points, taking the Selic rate to 10.50%.Hopes of imminent interest rate reductions among the major economies are receding (Exhibit 1) except perhaps in the eurozone, where expectations of a June…

Digitalization of the financial sector has brought significant benefits but has also exposed businesses to rising technology risks, including cyberattacks, system outages, and third-party information and communications technology (ICT) failures. To ensure financial institutions (FIs) remain resilient in the face of these threats, the European Union’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) sets out detailed requirements for EU-based FIs to protect their key business processes (see sidebar “DORA’s scope”). While DORA…

To explore how generative AI (gen AI) could transform the future of work globally, and in Singapore particularly, McKinsey partner Sanjna Parasrampuria, an expert in data, artificial intelligence and generative AI,  talked to Terence Chia, assistant chief executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore, and to Kathryn Kuhn, an alumnus of McKinsey’s Digital Practice. The conversation led to the conclusion that collaboration is vital to ensure that…

At a glance Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for women. Cardiovascular conditions in the United States make up at least a third of the women’s health gap because of inequities between women and men in care delivery, efficacy, and data availability. Addressing heart health at every life stage can improve a woman’s quality of life and overall health. It could lead to at least 1.6 million…

Demographic, regional, and technological shifts all influence the current story of global productivity. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Chris Bradley and Olivia White join editorial director Roberta Fusaro to discuss how best to measure productivity, what’s behind reduced productivity numbers, and what can be done to ramp up productivity rates again.In our second segment, McKinsey senior partner Tania Holt explores the challenge that Europe faces in filling many…

Following a record showing in 2022, the global banking sector continued to exceed expectations during 2023. Global return on tangible equity reached 13 percent in 2023, its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile, the worldwide Tier 1 ratio hit a ten-year high of 13.4 percent, and net interest margins rose to 2.4 percent, snapping a decade-long contraction. Despite the remarkable overall performance of global banking, several challenges that…

Since it was founded in the United Kingdom close to two decades ago, enterprise software company Anaplan has been built around the core concept of what it has dubbed “connected planning.” For customers who had long dealt with a messy patchwork of different systems and manual processes, this has meant having a single platform to enable integrated planning and forecasting for everything from finance and sales to supply chain and…

Over the past decade, private-capital firms and insurers have built a symbiotic relationship. Private-capital firms, which typically raise money from institutional investors such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, encompass multistrategy private-market firms, private-credit firms, private equity firms, and real estate firms. Tie-ups with insurers have allowed private-capital firms to expand their supply of permanent capital—investment funds that do not have to be returned to investors on a timetable,…

At a glance Labor markets in advanced economies today are among the tightest in two decades, not merely a pandemic-induced blip but rather a long-term trend that may continue as work forces age. Tightness means forgone economic output. We estimate that GDP in 2023 could have been 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent higher across these economies if employers were able to fill their excess job vacancies. Companies and economies will…

The stock market offers daily lessons in animal spirits and, occasionally, something more. Every so often, investors become obsessed with a small group of companies, and clever analysts give them a name that resonates with the investing public. In the ’60s, we had the Nifty 50; in the 2010s, we had the FAANGs; and today we have the Magnificent Seven and the Granolas. The Magnificent Seven are tech companies, by…

The changeable nature of fashion extends well beyond its seasonal changes of what to wear. In recent years, one of the industry’s most dramatic changes involves New York City’s position as a global fashion capital. Within the United States, New York City has the country’s highest concentration of fashion sales, talent, and employment. Activities related to fashion—which we define as fashion retail, wholesale, and distribution, along with textile, apparel, footwear,…

Soaring temperatures, shrinking glaciers, and rising sea levels provide a constant reminder that climate change is intensifying. Many governments, corporations, and individuals have already attempted to reduce emissions by adopting new green tech and want to expand these efforts to prevent a humanitarian crisis. The McKinsey Platform for Climate Technologies represents one such effort, and it focuses on executing and scaling critical climate solutions. Despite such initiatives, however, several obstacles…

Tokenization, the process of creating a unique digital representation of an asset on a blockchain network, has reached a tipping point after many years of promise and experimentation. The benefits—including programmability, composability, and enhanced transparency—can empower financial institutions to capture operational efficiencies, increase liquidity, and create new revenue opportunities through innovative use cases. These benefits are being realized today, with the first at-scale applications transacting trillions of dollars of assets…

As global organizations chart a path to net zero, many are looking to the next frontier of emissions reduction: “Scope 3” emissions. These emissions are not directly produced by a company’s operations, but embedded in its supply chain. They account for the vast majority of companies’ emissions, and a significant portion are generated from supply chain and logistics activities—in particular, from the combination of road and ocean freight. In total,…

For a decade, the Indian chemical industry has been a global outperformer in demand growth and shareholder wealth creation. However, global headwinds have recently interrupted this momentum. Chemical companies in India could navigate these challenges and enhance their future prospects by boosting their competitiveness. Indian chemical industry: Interrupted momentum Indian chemical companies performed better than their global counterparts with strong total shareholder returns (TSR) growing at an annual rate of…

The next generation of electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture for software-defined vehicles (SDV) is evolving toward centralization. By 2032, McKinsey analysis estimates that 30 percent of all vehicles produced globally will have E/E architectures with zonal controllers (Exhibit 1). Importantly for the semiconductor industry, this shift will require centralized, high-performance compute units. In the next ten years, the market for automotive microcomponent and logic semiconductors is expected to grow to $60 billion…

For many years, the Netherlands has enjoyed a robust economy and strong workforce. With a vast active workforce of 9.6 million people (out of a population of 17.6 million), the country has one of the highest employment rates and workforce productivity rates in the European Union. Globally, it ranks fifth for competitiveness, sixth for happiness, ninth for social progress, and tenth on the UN Human Development Index. However, ongoing trends…

Thousands of hours spent working closely with CEOs and other leaders of top corporations and nonprofits have revealed a fascinating business phenomenon: many leaders who have mastered all the right executive skills, including financial acumen, strategic and operational management, and system thinking, still struggle to link their aspirations with the actual performance of their organizations. After a careful analysis of what was holding back these otherwise talented executives, we concluded…

Credit unions in the United States are at a crossroads. Their membership ranks are aging, and young people don’t always see credit unions’ offerings as a good value. That means credit unions need to work harder to attract younger members, or risk fading into irrelevance. (For more details on credit unions—what are they exactly and who can join one—see sidebar, “A brief history of credit unions.”)US credit unions have had…

Jennifer Pahlka is the founder of Code for America, served as the United States government’s deputy chief technology officer, and is author of the book Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. Jenn joins us to share her personal reflections of her time in government and the path forward. Michael Chui (co-host): Janet, on this podcast we have had a lot…

In this episode of McKinsey on Building Products, a podcast dedicated to the exploration of software product management and engineering, McKinsey partner Rikki Singh spoke to Scott Johnston, CEO of Docker. They discuss the importance of continual experimentation and adaptation in scaling platforms, the role of internal tools and infrastructure, and the process of building a sustainable, high-performing developer culture. This interview took place in September 2023 as part of…

A vine of green ivy growing from an aluminum sardine tin on a light blue background. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, we’ve consumed products in largely the same way. A company will extract or collect the resources to create a product, which consumers then buy, use, and ultimately throw away. This is known as a linear model of mass consumption. We know now that this model of consumption has contributed…

McKinsey spoke with more than 5,000 travelers across geographies and generations as part of a recently published survey that reveals clear differences in behaviors, motivations, and expectations among a diverse set of tourists. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey’s Margaux Constantin and Jasperina de Vries speak with editorial director Roberta Fusaro about data that can help travel and tourism companies tailor their offerings and realize more bookings, higher satisfaction, and,…

Through most advances and innovations in enterprise technology, IT or technology services providers (also known as system integrators [SIs] or managed services providers [MSPs]) have, for the most part, been able to rely on one constant: their customers continuing to look outside their four walls for help stitching together and overseeing the ever-changing, complex web of hardware, software, networking, and storage products that drives their businesses. Now, enterprises are funneling…

New challenges await payments providers, now that the pandemic-related surge in adoption of digital payments has leveled off. Among them are questions about how the technology and use cases are likely to develop. In this episode of Talking Banking Matters, payments industry expert and McKinsey partner Roshan Varadarajan talks with Tien-Tsin Huang, the J.P. Morgan equity research analyst who covers the payments sector. The following edited transcript shares highlights from…

In today’s tumultuous business landscape, where price volatility, geopolitical tensions, and sustainability imperatives converge, one function stands at the forefront of navigating these complexities: procurement. In this context, the procurement function will act as a strategic lever for value protection and creation. Procurement sits at the confluence of huge quantities of data, flowing from within the organization (for example, spend, demand patterns, specifications) and from without (suppliers, market insights databases,…

There’s a race on to capture value from digital and AI, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are in danger of falling behind both retailers and consumers. It’s not for lack of trying. Like most sectors, CPG companies have been on some form of digital and AI transformation journey. But most of them are stuck in the pilot purgatory stage characterized by plenty of subscale activity and little at-scale value.…

Generative AI (gen AI) is an advancement that has seized the attention of governments, the public, and business leaders. But it presents unique challenges to the professionals tasked with managing gen AI’s existing and potential threats. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, Ida Kristensen, coleader of McKinsey’s Risk & Resilience Practice, and Oliver Bevan, a leader of enterprise risk management, speak with Sean Brown, global director…

After a slow start, hospitals and payers are making progress toward complying with federal price transparency rules that require them to publish online the pricing information about items and services they provide. As part of a trend of rising consumerism in healthcare, consumers express a high willingness to “shop” for care and can more readily due so with price transparency rules in place. Once consumers are able to easily access…