Podcast
The McKinsey Podcast
Hosted by McKinsey & Company · EN
The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.
34episodes
Episodes
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How premium leisure travel is rewriting airline economics
2d ago00:24:25Tap to summarizeWindow or aisle? These days, if you’re at the front of the plane, you don’t have to choose: “Everything is about having direct aisle access from every seat,” says Steve Saxon, coleader of McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice. And that’s just one of the many ways airlines are reinventing the premium experience for a burgeoning customer segment: the affluent vacationers now occupying seats once dominated by corporate road warriors. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Saxon talks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about why premium leisure travel is on the rise, what that means for airline economics, and how it’s prompting carriers to rethink everything from pricing to service to cabin design and product innovation. The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro. Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
Transcribe →Are you settling for a “B+" life?
1w ago00:23:53Tap to summarizeDo you feel stuck in the career you have? Suzy Welch, an NYU professor and author of Becoming You: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career (HarperCollins Publishers, May 2025), has your back. In today’s episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Welch explains that if your career doesn’t feel quite right, it may be because you’ve lost touch with your aptitudes and values. This episode was previously broadcast on our McKinsey Talks Talent podcast, featuring talent experts Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock. The McKinsey Podcast is regularly cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro. Click here to view the full transcript of this episode. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
Transcribe →The new advantage in the age of AI: Building in the real world
2w ago00:25:16Tap to summarizeThe next era of value creation may be defined less by digital innovation alone and more by the ability to build, operate, and scale physical assets. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, co-CEO of Hines Laura Hines-Pierce joins McKinsey’s North American Chair Eric Kutcher to discuss a widening gap between digital ambition and physical capacity. From a global housing shortage to an emergency energy and infrastructure supercycle, the conversation explores what it takes to build at scale—and why labor, permitting, and supply chain are now the true bottlenecks. They also reflect on leadership, organizational change, and preparing a 70-year-old firm for a more volatile, fast-changing future. In this recurring series on The McKinsey Podcast, Kutcher speaks with top CEOs about the practice of leadership. The McKinsey Podcast is regularly 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. Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
Transcribe →The human advantage in an AI economy
3w ago00:22:25Tap to summarizeCould AI transformation be exhausting humans rather than optimizing their performance? As artificial intelligence transforms how we work, organizations face a new challenge: ensuring people have the brain health and skills to cope with the cognitive demands of technology. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Partners and Kana Enomoto, and McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) Senior Fellow Jacqueline Brassey, speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about why brain capital is becoming a key competitive advantage in the age of AI—and what leaders can do to build healthier, more adaptable, and higher-performing organizations. In the second half of this episode, McKinsey Senior Partner Shubham Singhal joins Lucia to answer a few audience questions from a recent McKinsey Live webinar on geopolitics and how it’s reshaping global trade. The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro. This episode has been adapted from our McKinsey Live webinar series. Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
Transcribe →What the 2026 World Cup reveals about the next generation of sports fans
Jul 1600:15:50Tap to summarizeAs sports become an even bigger engine of economic growth, the defining challenge isn’t identifying tomorrow’s fans; it’s recognizing that many of them are already filling stadiums, attending World Cup watch parties, and participating in digital communities. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Lucy Pérez joins Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to reflect on McKinsey’s recent research about the growing influence of Latino fans, the brand opportunities for personalized engagement, and the investments that strengthen fandom—from youth sports all the way through lifelong participation. Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
Transcribe →The real AI advantage
Jul 900:20:27Tap to summarizeThe first wave of AI adoption has been all about efficiency gains. But what happens when everyone else, using the same tools, is experiencing the same productivity improvements? Where will competitive advantage come from then? McKinsey research suggests that the companies that outperform with AI will be those that rethink customer experiences, redesign how work gets done, and build operating models that continuously adapt to change. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner and McKinsey Global Institute Director Tanguy Catlin explains to Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro why CEOs should shift their focus from AI-driven productivity to AI-powered reinvention. They discuss the rise of agentic AI, how competitive dynamics are changing, and why organizational transformation—not technology—is likely to be the defining challenge of the AI era. Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
Transcribe →The serial builder advantage: Why repeat innovators win
Jul 200:25:30Tap to summarizeIn an era of economic uncertainty and accelerating technological disruption, creating new businesses has become less of a growth option and more of a strategic imperative. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Jason Bello speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about McKinsey’s new research on corporate venture building. They examine why serial builders outperform their peers, how AI is reshaping the economics of innovation, and what leaders can do to turn experimentation into a repeatable capability. Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
Transcribe →What it takes to become—and remain—an effective CEO
Jun 2500:10:38Tap to summarizeLong before someone takes the corner office, they need to build the skills and rapport that will help them thrive once they move in. That CEO journey is the focus of this episode of The McKinsey Podcast with McKinsey Partner Blair Epstein, Senior Partner Carolyn Dewar, Partner Julia McClatchy, and Senior Partner Vik Malhotra. They share their collective insights with Roberta Fusaro, McKinsey editorial director, about how CEOs should prepare for the role, navigate those critical early days, sustain personal and organizational performance, and continue to evolve their leadership styles. A CEO for All Seasons book: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/ceo-for-all-seasons Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
Transcribe →AI is turning every company into a software company
Jun 1800:25:46Tap to summarizeAs AI capabilities accelerate, nearly anyone can create software. The real business constraint is no longer code, but judgment: how quickly an organization can learn, adapt, and redeploy talent at scale. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy joins McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher to dig into how AI is industrializing intelligence, supercharging productivity, and forcing leaders to rethink everything from pricing models to workforce strategy. In this recurring series on The McKinsey Podcast, 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
Transcribe →The world is changing. Can fashion keep up?
Jun 1100:25:06Tap to summarizeAffordable luxury: It may sound like an oxymoron, but in an uncertain economy, it’s striking a chord with cautious consumers looking for value—and expecting more from the brands they buy. “Brands are actively thinking about the fact that people are shifting their spending,” according to McKinsey Senior Partner Gemma D’Auria. “If they want to stay relevant, they need to meet their customers where they are.” In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, D’Auria and McKinsey Senior Partner Holger Harreis speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about , including what consumers want, where they’re finding it, and how fashion executives can use AI to enhance creativity, competitiveness, and the customer experience overall. Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
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