Inside the Strategy Room

John Waldron, President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs, joins McKinsey Global Managing Partner, Kevin Sneader, and Senior Partner, Carolyn Dewar to discuss the state of business globally, the growing optimism about the economic recovery, and the numerous other forces driving the recent rapid uptick in M&A activity.   A transcript of this podcast will soon be available on the Inside the Strategy Room podcast collection page on McKinsey.com, where you can also easily explore, filter, and search our library of nearly 50 previous episodes. If you would like to share feedback or an idea for a future podcast, you can reach us at insidethestrategyroom@mckinsey.com. If you would like to receive alerts on our latest insights, you can sign up on the bottom of our podcast collection page on McKinsey.com, follow us on Twitter at @McKStrategy, and connect with us on LinkedIn via our McKinsey Strategy and Corporate Finance page.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

In the early days of the pandemic, preserving cash was a matter of survival for many companies. The sudden need for liquidity highlighted the critical importance of prudent cash management and inspired business leaders to raise the bar on their cash practices. Cash liquidity is now at the top of the vast majority of CFO and c-suite agendas.   Three finance experts joined us to discuss best practices in cash management. Christian Grube leads our CFO finance practice in Germany and serves clients in the automotive, health care, and manufacturing industries on a broad range of CFO topics.   Sun-You Park - an associate partner in our London office and a core member of our practice in Europe. She leads our cash service line in EMEA, and her client work is focused on cash and transformation topics across the energy, natural resources, and advanced industrials sectors.   Sun-You and Christian recently co-authored an article on cash excellence, which you can find on McKinsey dot com by searching for “Moving from cash preservation to cash excellence for the next normal”.   We are also joined by Hugo Bague. Hugo most recently was group executive of organizational resources at Rio Tinto and is now a senior advisor to McKinsey.  He has more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership roles in human resources and support functions, driving HR transformations, complex merger integrations, and cost and support function transformations.  Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Today we tackle the topic of decision making in the boardroom. What has the pandemic taught board directors about making high-consequence, low-probability decisions?You’ll hear Frithjof Lund, the leader of our board services work, leading a discussion with three experts. Aaron De Smet, who helps organizations improve their performance and agility, and senior expert Leigh Weiss are co-authors of a recent article about decision making in uncertain times. Suzanne Nimocks is a director on the boards of ArcelorMittal, Owens Corning, Ovintiv (formerly Encana) and Valaris (formerly Ensco Rowan), as well as a former senior McKinsey partner. We hope you enjoy the discussion.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:49) >  This is the second part of Erik Roth’s interview with Ireena Vittal. In the first part of their conversation, they discussed the importance of taking a very granular approach to markets in developing countries, the constraints emerging economies place on business models, and the unique role ecosystems play. In this episode, Erik and Ireena dive into the importance of pegging capital investments to the realities of emerging economies and discuss some of the most exciting areas of innovation in those markets, including some fascinating initiatives in the public sector. We hope you enjoy this second part of their discussion.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 18:13) >  In today’s episode, Erik Roth, who leads our innovation work globally, discusses innovation in the context of developing markets with Ireena Vittal. Ireena has spent 30 years helping both multinationals and start-ups grow their businesses, especially in emerging economies. Today, she is one of India’s top advisers on innovation and growth, serving on the boards of some of the country’s largest institutions and assisting governments on issues related to urbanization and agriculture. Their discussion was wide ranging, and we are covering it in two parts. We hope you enjoy this first part of the discussion.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:57) >  This episode examines how business leaders should plan the transition from managing operations through the crisis to establishing a foundation for growth in the post-COVID-19 era. It features two partners who are spearheading our research on these topics. Martin Hirt, the global co-leader of the Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice, is a co-author of the recent article on the COVID-19 exit and of the book Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick, upon which some of the conversation is based. Anna Koivuniemi co-leads the growth service line globally and is the co-author of recent articles on through-cycle growth out-performers and lessons from growth transformations.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 34:42) >  This episode explores innovation in the agriculture sector. Erik Roth, leader of McKinsey’s innovation work globally, talks with Neal Gutterson, who recently retired as CTO of agricultural chemical and seed company Corteva. Gutterson explains the transformation he led following a spinoff from DowDuPont to bring together disparate R&D organizations into one cohesive engine of innovation. This is the sixth episode in our ongoing series, The Committed Innovator. Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 29:18) >  In this episode, co-authors of two recent articles—on growth strategies during downturns and the acceleration of trends since the pandemic’s start—help shed light on the reasons behind the widening gap in corporate performance and how companies can position themselves to be among those gaining ground. Rebecca Doherty is a global leader in our growth and innovation practice and serves healthcare, industrial, and technology clients. Nicholas Northcote is a partner currently on a research fellowship focused on corporate growth and setting strategy during the coronavirus pandemic. He was a major contributor to our recent book, Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick, upon which some of this podcast is based.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 34:27) >  The board agenda has been crowded since the start of the pandemic, and many issues have acquired new urgency. This episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast focuses on board priorities in the new era. Frithjof Lund, a senior partner and the leader of our board services work, speaks with two cybersecurity experts about how boards of directors should help their organizations ensure they are prepared for potential cyberattacks. John Noble is the former director of the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre, and a board member ofNHS Digital, the national information and technology partner to the country’s National Health Service. Wolf Richter is a McKinsey partner who helps chief information officers capture the benefits and mitigate the risks of tech-enabled transformations.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 21:18) >  This is the first episode in a new series on board perspectives around high-priority corporate issues. In this session, Frithjof Lund, a senior partner in our Oslo office and leader of our board services work, speaks with Tomas Nauclér, a senior partner in our Stockholm office and leader of our Sustainability Practice, about how boards should engage on issues of sustainability and their organizations’ environmental, social and corporate governance impact.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information