250. Building geopolitical resilience: A conversation with Michèle Flournoy
In this episode, Michèle Flournoy joins Andy West to share her perspectives on how companies can build their geopolitical resilience. Michèle is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, a strategic advisory firm that helps CEOs and investors navigate geopolitical risks and opportunities. She served the US government as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to 2012 and was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense. In January 2007, Michèle co-founded the Center for a New American Security – a bipartisan think tank dedicated to developing strong, pragmatic, and principled national security policies. She served as its President until 2009, returned as CEO in 2014, and today serves as the Chair. Andy West is a senior partner and the global coleader of our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice. Comments and opinions expressed by interviewees are their own and do not represent or reflect the opinions, policies, or positions of McKinsey & Company or have its endorsement. Related Insights Tariffs and global trade: The economic impact on business Navigating tariffs with a geopolitical nerve center Tariffs on the move? A guide for CEOs for 2025 and beyond How American business can prosper in the new geopolitical era. Insights from McKinsey and Company’s Geopolitics PracticeSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
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249. Becoming CEO, just in time for global crisis: David Gitlin, Chairman and CEO of Carrier Global Corporation
David Gitlin is Chairman and CEO of Carrier Global Corporation, a global leader in intelligent climate and energy solutions. With prior senior leadership roles in aerospace and manufacturing and extensive expertise across safety and operational excellence, David led the much-lauded 2020 Carrier spin-off from United Technologies—as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, McKinsey senior partner and North America Chair, Eric Kutcher, talks with David about his journey as a CEO during a crisis, and explores his insights on rallying leadership, the board, and 50,000 employees across 160 countries to excel in their roles. This podcast was recorded on March 31, 2025.Related insightsHow Judy Marks leads Otis Worldwide Corporation through uncertainty and technological evolutionThe art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factoryAuthor Talks: IBM’s Ginni Rometty on leading with ‘good power’Getting fit for growth: The leadership mindsets and behaviors that matterCEO PerspectivesSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
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248. Taking a proactive approach to geopolitics
As geopolitical trends bring increased uncertainty and risk, CEOs and other business leaders can take action to get and stay ahead of it all. This week Sean speaks with three McKinsey experts on geopolitical risk about how organizations can build resilience to address continued global uncertainty. Cindy Levy is a senior partner in our London office and the global co-leader of our Geopolitics Practice. She previously led our Global Risk and Resilience and our United Kingdom Financial Services Practices, and she works with financial institutions on strategy, corporate finance, enterprise risk management, and culture. Shubham Singhal is a senior partner in our Detroit office and co-leads our Geopolitics Practice with Cindy. He previously led our healthcare, public sector, and social sector practices, as well as our efforts to help clients respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Olivia White is a senior partner in our Bay Area office and a director of the McKinsey Global Institute. She advises leading financial institutions and other global firms on a wide range of issues across strategy, growth, risk and resilience. Related insights How American business can prosper in the new geopolitical era Navigating the new geopolitical uncertainty Geopolitics and the geometry of global trade: 2025 update Tariffs on the move? A guide for CEOs for 2025 and beyond A proactive approach to navigating geopolitics is essential to thrive Dependency and depopulation? Confronting the consequences of a new demographic reality Can your company remain global and if so, how? Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
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247. Transforming for growth
Companies often aim for growth or transformation, but it's less common for them to pursue transformation as a means of achieving growth. This week, three McKinsey experts share their research into how the one in four companies that outperform use transformation to achieve growth beyond that of their peers. Sandra Sancier-Sultan is a senior partner based in Paris and a leader in McKinsey’s Transformation, Sustainability, and Financial Services practices. Rebecca Doherty is a partner in our San Francisco Bay Area office and co-leader of our global Strategic Growth and Innovation Practice, and Louisa Greco is a partner in our Toronto office and a leader in our Transformation Practice. Related insights Breaking the mold: Five behaviors of leading growth transformers Choosing to grow: The leader’s blueprint Courageous growth: Six strategies for continuous growth outperformance Eight lessons on how to get the growth you planned McKinsey Insights on Transformation McKinsey Transformation on LinkedInSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
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246. Alok Sama on corporate finance in the fast lane
Alok Sama spent years in corporate finance and as a managing director at Morgan Stanley before joining Softbank as CFO and plunging into founder-CEO Masayoshi Son’s world of high-speed, high-risk decision making. For Sama, the shift involved many eye-opening experiences, which he later shared in a memoir, titled The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble (St. Martin’s Press, 2024). In this episode, Sama speaks with McKinsey senior partner Vik Malhotra, who is based in our New York office, where he counsels CEOs and corporate boards and serves as our firm’s Chairman of the Americas. Vik is also a co-author of the New York Times bestseller, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest. The two talked about what it was like to work with SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, negotiating deals such as Softbank’s $32 billion acquisition of the British chip design company Arm Holdings, and why Alok decided to return to school in his 50s to earn a master’s degree in fine arts. Related Insights CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest. The CEO as elite athlete: What business leaders can learn from modern sports How AI is transforming strategy development Palo Alto Networks CFO on AI, cybersecurity, and the finance leader’s mandate The Seasons of the CFO Achieving growth: Putting leadership mindsets and behaviors into action McKinsey Strategy & Corporate Finance on LinkedInSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
We talk with McKinsey partners and corporate executives on the challenges they face creating lasting strategies in a fast-changing world. We also examine the different ways these executives approach these challenges and the new and innovative ways they think of creating a vision for their enterprises.
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