The McKinsey Podcast

McKinsey’s latest research on global banking demonstrates that artificial intelligence isn’t just another efficiency play for financial institutions; it represents a fundamental shift in how these companies manage costs, attract and retain customers, and stay ahead of the competition. In this episode, Ido Segev, McKinsey senior partner and Roberta Fusaro, editorial director talk about the speed with which AI is advancing, what’s holding banks back from scaling it, and the potential advantages for early movers. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

For more than a century, medicine has largely followed a one-size-fits-all model—but that paradigm is beginning to break. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, joins Eric Kutcher, McKinsey’s North America chair, to explore how mRNA technology is transforming healthcare. From the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines to new approaches to rare genetic diseases and individualized cancer treatments, Bancel explains how treating biology as information could reshape how drugs are discovered, manufactured, and delivered. In this recurring series, Eric speaks with top CEOs about the practice of leadership. The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro. To watch the full-length version of this interview, visit The McKinsey Podcast playlist on McKinsey’s YouTube channel.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

A historic wave of ownership transitions is set to reshape the backbone of the US economy. The fate of jobs, local spending, and wealth creation all hinge on whether enough qualified—and diverse—buyers can step in to continue to pave the way for small business ownership. In this episode, Shelley Stewart III, McKinsey senior partner and Roberta Fusaro, editorial director, talk about the scale and stakes of the "Great Ownership transfer". After, Ken Yearwood, McKinsey partner, joins to talk about the risks of inaction and the practical pathways to making these transitions work.  The McKinsey Podcast: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast Shelley Stewart III: https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/shelley-stewart The Great Ownership Transfer report: https://www.mckinsey.com/institute-for-economic-mobility/our-insights/the-great-ownership-transfer-a-new-era-of-business-stewardship McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility: https://www.mckinsey.com/institute-for-economic-mobility/overview Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

As generative and agentic AI reshape how work gets done, the real divide isn’t who has the best ideas—it’s who can turn them into real results at speed and scale. In this webinar, McKinsey Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly speaks with Senior Partners Kate Smaje and Robert Levin about the updated Rewired playbook—and why winning with AI now depends less on ambition and more on building the organizational capabilities to deliver. The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro. This conversation has been adapted from our McKinsey Live series. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Most leaders herald the promise of AI, but many employees see it as a looming threat—a modern echo of Annie Oakley’s classic lines: “Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you.” What does it take, then, to lead constructive partnerships between humans and AI agents at work? In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Alexis Krivkovich and McKinsey Global Institute Partner Anu Madgavkar speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about new research on what AI can and can’t do, where humans will continue to add value, and what needs to happen to help all of us work side-by-side with agents and robots successfully. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

People often expect their leaders to have all the answers; David Novak built his career by challenging that assumption. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, the former CEO and cofounder of Yum! Brands and current chair of Versant speaks with Eric Kutcher, McKinsey’s chair of North America, about the experiences that shaped his leadership—from engaging with front-line franchisees to managing a very public product flop—and how other leaders can learn from them. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Foreign direct investment (FDI) used to sit in the background—important, but distant from day-to-day strategy. That’s no longer true. Today, massive capital commitments into areas like AI, semiconductors, and clean energy are signaling which industries will scale, where supply chains will land, and which regions will dominate. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partners Nick Leung and Olivia White explain to Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro why FDI has become a critical early indicator of competitive advantage—and what leaders should be watching now. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

The US has had a phenomenal run of success: at 250 years old, it’s home to the world’s most competitive economy, accounting for more than a quarter of global GDP and more than half of the world’s top 100 companies. But America also confronts a raft of new challenges—mounting national debt, eroding infrastructure, slipping test scores, persistent income disparity, and more—that could threaten its historical momentum. “I don’t bet against the US,” says McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher. “If you believe in entrepreneurial spirit as core to who we are, then you have to believe this success will continue. But it’s not a foregone conclusion. There’s a lot that must happen to enable it.” In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Kutcher and Senior Partner Olivia White speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about new McKinsey Global Institute research on what drives the US’s competitive edge—and what leaders need to do to maintain that edge in the AI era. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Yes, AI is astonishing: fast, powerful, and learning every day. But even as leaders strike up new pilots across their organizations, most still struggle to translate experimentation into enterprise value—and now, agentic AI is raising the stakes. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Alexis Krivkovich speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what it will take to build an “agentic organization”—from reimagining workflows to reshaping leadership roles, skills, and culture for a future where humans increasingly operate above the loop. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Companies backed by private equity (PE) tend to transform faster and more often than public or family-owned firms do, leading to consistently outperforming their peers. Marla Capozzi and Sacha Ghai, McKinsey leaders, researched nearly 300 CEOs across PE and private-capital companies to define their tactics and share their best practices with others. They and their coauthors published the findings in a recent Harvard Business Review article, and in this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, they speak with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about lessons from PE that any company can implement. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Many leaders can get agentic pilots rolling—but realizing ROI can mean activating thousands of AI agents enterprise-wide. Is your organization ready? “Agency isn’t a feature—it’s a transfer of decision rights,” says McKinsey Partner Rich Isenberg. “The question shifts from ‘Is the model accurate?’ to ‘Who’s accountable when the system acts?’” On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Isenberg joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to explore how leaders can scale AI safely, mitigate risk for autonomous systems, and build the trust required to make innovation stick. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

McKinsey research has found that while many leaders believe they’ve adopted and implemented productive mindsets for growth, those attitudes and ambitions don’t always translate into the behaviors and actions necessary to achieve their growth objectives. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro speaks with McKinsey Senior Partners Greg Kelly and Jill Zucker about how leading organizations translate growth intent into sustained performance. In part, it involves making clear bets, allocating resources deliberately, and staying committed through uncertainty. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Lars Hartenstein, senior fellow at the McKinsey Health Institute, and Roberta Fusaro, an editorial director at McKinsey, discuss the findings from McKinsey’s recent research on obesity and metabolic health—specifically, the potential interventions for sparking a metabolic health revolution, the economic impact of improving outcomes, and the technologies that are emerging as the connective tissue between prevention and treatment. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

This is a special episode of The McKinsey Podcast covering last week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. McKinsey Senior Partners Becca Coggins and Shelley Stewart III speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what was top of mind for CEOs—from geopolitics to leading through the AI moment to the faster-than-expected arrival of humanoid robots at scale. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

AI has yet to deliver the ROI many leaders expected. What are they getting wrong? “This is probably the biggest, most complex transformation we’ve seen—but it’s 80 percent business transformation and 20 percent tech,” according to McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher. “That’s different from how most people have thought about it.” On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Eric speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about how CEOs can deliver on AI’s revolutionary potential—and meet this “legacy moment” successfully. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

McKinsey’s Bill Wiseman, Bob Sternfels, Martin Kellner, and Steffen Fuchs were on the ground at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In this special episode of The McKinsey Podcast, they tell us about the tools and themes that most resonated with them—breakthrough AI applications, advances in mobility, and more. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Think about your org chart. Now imagine it features both your current colleagues—humans, if you’re like most of us—and AI agents. That’s not science fiction; it’s happening. And it’s happening relatively quickly, according to McKinsey Senior Partner Jorge Amar. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, originally broadcast on McKinsey Talks Talent, Jorge joins McKinsey talent leaders Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock and Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to talk about what these AI agents are, how they’re being used, and how leaders can prepare now for the workforce of the not-too-distant future. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

People are asked to update the operating systems on their phones all the time. What if leaders applied that same kind of polishing and bug fixing to themselves? McKinsey research shows that executives who periodically review and revise their priorities, roles, time, and energy tend to be more productive, work more consciously, and drive change more effectively. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Arne Gast joins McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to discuss how leaders can tune up their own personal operating models. Articles mentioned: America at 250 In a moment of tariffs, can the world find balance and trust to thrive? Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Banking has had a couple of very good years—the best, in fact, since the global financial crisis of 2007–09. Yet to some, the industry’s outlook seems less buoyant than recent profitability might suggest. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partners Klaus Dallerup and Pradip Patiath speak with McKinsey Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about McKinsey’s latest global banking annual review, breaking down the sources of skepticism, the risks and opportunities of a changing landscape, and lessons leaders can take from banks that have consistently outperformed over the past decade. Articles mentioned: M&A Annual Report: Is the wave finally arriving? Investing in housing: Unlocking economic mobility for Black families and all Americans Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Quantum computing has long been technology’s white whale. But in recent months, new developments suggest practical applications for this elusive technology could finally be within reach. “Quantum has been five to ten years away from fruition for many, many decades,” says McKinsey Partner Michael Bogobowicz. “Now it feels three to five years away.” In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Bogobowicz joins McKinsey Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss how quantum differs from conventional computing, what its potential use cases are likely to be, and how to prepare for the highs and lows of a world that could move exponentially faster than it does today.  In our second segment we ask, what’s the most important factor in having a successful transformation? McKinsey Senior Partner Michael Bucy says it’s the CEO.   Articles mentioned: Navigating tariffs with a geopolitical nerve center The Global Trade Explorer Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

One thing is clear for the fashion industry in 2025. Due to climate change, global trade uncertainties, and consumers focused on value, growth is expected to be slow. However, despite the negative environment, McKinsey Senior Partner, Gemma D’Auria says there are opportunities to mine. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, she speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about our latest state of fashion research and how brands can navigate the challenges. Theme music is composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

“A bank and a steel company can walk into a bar and not have much to do with each other. But once one of the arena companies walks in, we’re all involved.” That’s McKinsey Global Institute director Chris Bradley. On the latest episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Chris spoke with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about a new report delving into the next arenas of competition—namely, a set of dynamic, high-growth industries that are fundamentally redefining the global economy and changing the game for businesses across the board. Article mentioned:The McKinsey Quarterly Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Leaders worldwide are moving fast to deploy AI at scale. But scaling AI means more data centers—and data centers consume vast quantities of energy. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey’s Jesse Noffsinger and Pankaj Sachdeva speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what needs to happen to build new, bigger data centers quickly, as well as to sate their growing hunger for power. Articles mentioned:  A generational shift: The future of foreign aid Risk rebalancing: Five important geopolitical-risk questions for CIOs Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Gen AI is evolving fast—but employee adoption is slow for most companies. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, we feature an episode of our technology podcast, At the Edge. Tech visionaries Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield Fund; Kiran Prasad, McKinsey senior adviser and CEO and cofounder of Big Basin Labs; and Naba Banerjee, McKinsey senior adviser and former director of trust and operations at Airbnb, join guest host and McKinsey Senior Partner Brian Gregg. They unpack the technical, cultural, and organizational challenges companies face—and what leaders can do to realize gen AI’s full potential while managing its risks. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Global competition has intensified, and the demand for energy and computing power is growing exponentially as companies embed AI, robotics, and other technologies into their everyday business processes. McKinsey’s annual outlook on technology trends points to 13 “frontier” trends that can help companies get a handle on these and other challenges. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast McKinsey Senior Partners Lareina Yee, Roger Roberts, and Sven Smit share the latest data and their insights on digital innovation, implementation, infrastructure, and trust with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly. Articles Mentioned: How CEOs are responding to geopolitical uncertainty A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

CEOs are confronting double the number of critical issues today compared with ten years ago. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partners Daniel Pacthod and Kurt Strovink, along with McKinsey Senior Advisor Wyman Howard, join McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to discuss the characteristics today’s business leaders need to handle greater and more frequent waves of disruption and how organizations can create the infrastructure and conditions to build team-oriented leaders. In our second segment, we examine three types of resiliencies that CEOs can develop within their companies with McKinsey Senior Partner Ida Kristensen. (Starts at about 18:05) Article mentioned: Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

This year on The McKinsey Podcast, we’ve dived into an array of topics on leadership, organizational change, and technological innovation, talking to McKinsey’s most seasoned experts about how to lead during times of geopolitical upheaval and economic uncertainty, as well as how to harness and then radiate the advances made possible by AI. We didn’t just go for the broad strokes. We heard from McKinsey partners about the questions they’re getting every day from their clients across industries. How can leaders move forward competitively in a business climate so full of flux and opportunity? Our guests this year had plenty of ideas.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Yes, dreaming up your next getaway can be exhilarating. But booking it? Often less so. For many customers, the thrill of travel risks getting lost in logistics, says McKinsey Senior Partner Jules Seeley. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, he joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on the rise of AI in the travel industry, including the advent of AI agents that could design end-to-end itineraries, rebook disrupted flights, and tailor recommendations to each traveler’s tastes—changing the calculus for customers and travel employees alike. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

From gen AI pilots to automated supply chains, technology is reshaping how operations leaders create efficiencies, build resilience, and encourage teamwork. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Daniel Swan speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about how COOs can embed technology, particularly AI, into their company’s culture. It requires balancing the urgency of today with the transformation of tomorrow. Articles/pieces mentioned: The hard stuff 2025: Taking stock of progress on the physical challenges of the energy transition The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Not all consumer attention is created equal—that’s a critical lesson from McKinsey’s recent report on content creation and monetization. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Kabir Ahuja speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about something called the “attention equation” and how media players can use it to get a better return on their investments. It’s about quality of focus, Ahuja reminds us, not just quantity of eyeballs. Articles Mentioned: The FDI shake-up: How foreign direct investment today may shape industry and trade tomorrow How Strategy Champions win Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

What if a product’s journey didn’t end after its first use? Remanufacturing—restoring preowned parts to perform like new—is transforming automotives, electronics, and other industries. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Inga Maurer and Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro explore how this practice reduces waste while creating more value for companies. Articles Mentioned:  One year of agentic AI: Six lessons from the people doing the work The infrastructure moment Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Most leaders set out to be the best—but few make that Mount Everest–like ascent successfully. What do the world’s most iconic CEOs do differently? McKinsey Senior Partners Carolyn Dewar, Kurt Strovink, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra break it down in their new book A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership (Scribner/Simon & Schuster, October 2025), based on research and interviews with executives ranking among the top 200 CEOs across the globe. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, the four coauthors join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss some of the more surprising lessons they learned—and what they’ve changed about their own leadership as a result.   Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

There is no single definition of “rural America.” It comprises agricultural hubs, manufacturing centers, and fast-growing regions—each a regional archetypes with its own distinct challenges and opportunities. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Nora Gardner joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss these archetypes and new research that can help leaders better understand rural communities. In our second segment, McKinsey Partner Sarah Tucker-Ray speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about how rural K–12 education can equip students with the skills needed for advanced manufacturing—and why partnerships with industry matter for the future of rural America. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Chief marketing officers are vital to strategic decision-making, but increasingly, they’re being left out of the discussions that matter most—to the detriment of both customers and growth. “Kelsey and I are on a singular mission to bring CMOs back,” McKinsey Senior Partner Shelley Stewart III said recently, referring to Senior Partner Kelsey Robinson. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Shelley and Kelsey join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on worsening disconnects in the C-suite, as well as how strengthening alignment between CMOs, CEOs, and CFOs can make a meaningful and sustainable difference in organizational performance. This conversation originally aired as a McKinsey Live webinar following the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Don’t lose sight of the long term. It’s a core message from the eighth edition of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, McKinsey’s seminal guide for corporate-finance professionals. It also describes the unique investment approach of the legendary investor Warren Buffett, who will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, we hear an excerpt from our Author Talks series featuring Valuation coauthor and McKinsey Partner Tim Koller and Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro. They talk about what’s changed in the business world since the first edition of Valuation was published, some 35 years ago. He also touches on Buffett’s approach to investing, including why it worked and whether it can be replicated. Articles/pieces mentioned: Tariffs and trade: Preparing for the unpredictable Confronting the affordable-housing crisis Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Pickleball, padel—yes, they’re hot. Nevertheless, a third of the world’s adults are inactive—and among youth, inactivity is even more pronounced, according to McKinsey Partner Alexander Thiel. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Alexander joins Global Editorial Director and Deputy Publisher Lucia Rahilly to discuss this year’s whipsawing consumer trends, as well as what sporting goods leaders can do to harness them to combat slowing growth. Articles/pieces mentioned: Can Bloomingdale’s bring the magic back to department stores? McKinsey's 2025 annual book recommendations Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

As geopolitical tensions persist, global trade dynamics are becoming increasingly complex—and many leaders find themselves on tenterhooks. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Cindy Levy and Shubham Singhal, two global coleaders of McKinsey’s geopolitics work, join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss how to move forward amid rapidly reconfiguring trade relationships—regardless of the way current tariff talks play out. This conversation has been adapted from our McKinsey Live series. Articles mentioned:  The ‘attention equation’: Winning the right battles for consumer attention State of the Consumer 2025: When disruption becomes permanent Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw    See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

The US housing crunch is bad—and it’s getting worse. Wider access to safe, affordable homes is vital to enabling economic mobility for all Americans—and to harnessing what McKinsey Partner JP Julien, a leader of the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, calls a “massive” untapped economic opportunity. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, JP joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss what’s causing the crisis in affordable housing, who’s most affected, and what both public- and private-sector leaders can do to effect fast but lasting change. Articles mentioned:  The State of Aviation 2025 Global Private Markets Report 2025: Braced for shifting weather Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

M&A activity is down, as is private equity investment, and companies are facing a range of new geopolitical tensions. Still, there is a path to growth through M&A for those companies that maintain an active acquisition strategy, understand their capabilities, and avoid certain assets, says McKinsey Senior Partner Jake Henry. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, he and McKinsey Senior Partner Mieke Van Oostende join McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to discuss findings from McKinsey’s 2025 M&A report. They also discuss the importance of culture in M&A integrations. In our second segment, McKinsey Senior Partner Dana Maor shares how CEOs can and should stay connected to their teams with Managing Editor of Podcasts, Laurel Moglen. (Starts at 15:58) Articles mentioned:  The cost of compute: A $7 trillion race to scale data centers In a moment of tariffs, can the world find balance and trust to thrive? Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy NgiawSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Career advancement is tough for everyone—but for women, it can feel particularly elusive. There’s a reason for that, according to the new book The Broken Rung: for every 100 men promoted early in their careers, only 81 women experience that same opportunity. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, the book’s authors, McKinsey Senior Partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and María del Mar Martínez, join McKinsey Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss the challenges that can limit professional women’s progress—as well as the approaches some have used to find their footing and continue to climb the career ladder successfully.  ***** What's new on McKinsey.com? Beyond the start-up phase: Recipes for growth at mobility companies European automotive industry: What it takes to regain competitive Theme music is composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Companies are getting practical about how to create value from gen AI – while 5G, satellites, and innovations in phone design also take center stage. This is a special, bonus episode of The McKinsey Podcast. McKinsey Partner Ferry Grijpink joined McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to share some immediate takeaways from the annual Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

The World Economic Forum was buzzing as leaders confront a world in flux. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Daniel Pacthod, Rodney Zemmel, and Tracy Francis talk with McKinsey global editorial director, Lucia Rahilly, about what happened in Davos last week (originally recorded for our webinar series, McKinsey Live). Key themes on the mountaintop were: AI transformation, resilience and geopolitics, EU competitiveness, the energy transition, and women’s health. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Yes, the changing geopolitical reality presents new risks—but like all disruptions, it may also create new opportunities. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Cindy Levy and Shubham Singhal, global coleaders of McKinsey’s geopolitics work, speak with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about how leaders can orient themselves within this evolving geopolitical landscape and, in particular, begin to move beyond mitigating risk to finding and mobilizing on new opportunities.  Articles mentioned: The value now consumer: making sense of consumer sentiment and spending Tariffs on the move? A guide for CEOs for 2025 and beyond Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Technology, talent, decarbonization—we explored these and many other topics this year on The McKinsey Podcast. A range of McKinsey partners joined us on the mic and offered their perspectives on the pivots that global business leaders have made to compete more effectively. On this episode, we revisit a few those discussions and offer quick takes from McKinsey partners on what has mattered most to CEOs and other C-suite leaders over the past 12 months. Also, McKinsey senior partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Sven Smit, and Yuval Atsmon talk about their choices for McKinsey’s 2024 book recommendations. Articles mentioned: AI for IT modernization: faster, cheaper, better A proactive approach to navigating geopolitics is essential to thrive Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Ten years of research on women in the workplace, conducted by McKinsey in partnership with LeanIn.Org, reveals what’s better, what’s worse, and what all of us can do now to help more women advance—more quickly—at work.  On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Alexis Krivkovich and Lareina Yee speak with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about where women’s experiences have improved, stalled, and even worsened over the past ten years, as well as about how to finally hasten the pace of change. Articles mentioned: The McKinsey Quarterly Global Banking Annual ReviewSee www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

This is a special, bonus episode of The McKinsey Podcast. McKinsey partner Alexis Trittipo joins us from the UN climate change conference (aka COP 29) in Baku to share what she’s hearing about climate adaptation.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Since Tufan Erginbilgiç took the helm of the iconic brand, its share price has surged. Profits have more than doubled. How he did it is a case study in the art of corporate transformation. In conversation with McKinsey senior partner Michael Birshan.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

If you have an ambition but no plan behind it, you’re probably not going to get the results you’re looking for. According to recent McKinsey research on the UK economy, the highest-performing UK companies have grounded their ambitions in a set of five conditions—looking at investors, incentives, sources of growth, partnerships, and people. And the results speak for themselves. On today’s episode of The McKinsey Podcast, senior partners Andrew Goodman and Tunde Olanrewaju speak with editorial director Roberta Fusaro about this research. In our second segment, we look at the role of the CEO during an M&A transition with senior partner Mieke Van Oostende, from our CEO Insights series.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

It’s easy to fall in love with gen AI—but recent research suggests that realizing its value is harder than the hype. Rewired offers a playbook that can help. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Rodney and fellow senior partners and co-authors Eric Lamarre and Kate Smaje join global editorial director Lucia Rahilly to talk about their book Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI (Wiley, 2023)—which, a year and a gen AI disruption post publication, continues to offer leaders a play-by-play guide for outcompeting in a fast-changing era. In the second segment, senior partner Wesley Walden talks about the time he went to a client meeting instead of his son’s first concert. The client’s reaction taught him an important lesson about open communication.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Optimists, pessimists—who’s right? On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partner Humayun Tai, partner Mekala Krishnan and global editorial director Lucia Rahilly discuss new research that takes stock of the physical realities shaping our trajectory toward net zero, as well as what needs to happen to address these challenges—and hasten progress—successfully. In our second segment, we hear about how to improve the CEO–board relationship with senior partner Celia Huber, from our CEO Insights series.   Theme music composed and performed by Joy Ngiaw See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information  See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information