Inside the Strategy Room

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 enviro

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

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 Practi

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 episod

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 glob

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.

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

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 f

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 holi

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. Rea