The McKinsey Podcast

Robert Levin, a McKinsey senior partner focused on AI strategy, and Kate Smaje, McKinsey senior partner and global tech and AI leader, discuss scaling generative and agentic AI. They cover updated playbooks for turning AI ambition into results. Conversations include value-at-scale metrics, agentic engineering, workforce changes, and practical first moves for leaders.

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

David Novak, co-founder and former CEO of Yum! Brands and veteran C-suite leader, shares leadership stories from Pizza Hut to KFC. He discusses bringing teams and franchisees along. He explains how culture enables execution and why admitting you do not have all the answers builds trust. He recalls product flops like Crystal Pepsi and argues curiosity and better questions will matter most with AI.

Nick Leung, a McKinsey senior partner who studies global investment and trade, and Olivia White, a McKinsey senior partner focused on macroeconomic and industrial strategy, discuss how foreign direct investment is shifting into AI, semiconductors, batteries, and clean energy. They explore regional moves, supply‑chain and ecosystem effects, and why capital flows now signal where industries and jobs will land.

Olivia White, a McKinsey senior partner focused on competitiveness, R&D and AI implications. Eric Kutcher, McKinsey’s North America chair advising CEOs on strategy and tech-driven change. They discuss US scale and firm dynamism, AI fluency and workforce participation, infrastructure and manufacturing gaps, financing growth, and what corporate boards should be asking now.

Alexis Krivkovich, McKinsey senior partner who studies how AI and org design reshape work, leadership, and talent. Conversation covers why big AI investments often fail to deliver. It explores how agentic AI could change business models and team structures. It examines leadership time use, new skills needed, and how to redesign end-to-end workflows for scalable impact.

Marla Capozzi, a McKinsey partner who studies full-potential diligence and governance. Sacha Ghai, a McKinsey senior partner focused on private-capital leadership and profitability. They discuss how private-equity CEOs transform companies faster. Topics include full-potential diligence, cutting unprofitable revenue, clean-sheeting labor, fit-for-purpose leadership teams, boards as value creators, and treating time as capital.

Rich Isenberg, a McKinsey partner who advises leaders on scaling agentic AI and risk, joins to discuss trust and accountability for autonomous systems. He covers how agency shifts decision rights and why governance, non-bypassable guardrails, and automated monitoring matter. Short pilots, clear escalation paths, and kill switches are highlighted as ways to scale safely.

Greg Kelly, a senior partner in strategy and operations, and Jill Zucker, a senior partner focused on growth and performance. They explore why mindset alone does not create growth. They discuss making deliberate bets across core and new businesses. They cover using AI and customer data, building talent wired for growth, and leadership practices that sustain momentum.

Lars Hartenstein, senior fellow at the McKinsey Health Institute and metabolic health strategist, discusses the global scale of obesity and why metabolic health matters. He explores how food, pharma, tech, and policy will be disrupted. He contrasts drug-based treatment with prevention-focused approaches and outlines five system-level shifts to spark a metabolic health revolution.