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Company Overview
About McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is a New York City-based global management consulting firm — privately held as a partnership — providing strategy, operations, technology, and organization consulting to CEOs and C-suites of the world's largest corporations, governments, and institutions through approximately 40,000 professionals across 130+ offices in 70+ countries and approximately $16 billion in estimated revenue in 2024. Founded in Chicago in 1926 by James O. McKinsey, a University of Chicago accounting professor, the firm's modern identity was shaped by Marvin Bower (who joined in 1933 and led the firm from 1950-1967, establishing the partnership model, professional ethics standards, and global expansion that define McKinsey today). Global Managing Partner Bob Sternfels (reelected to a second and final three-year term in February 2024) oversees the firm through a challenging period that includes reputation headwinds from its opioid consulting work and global scrutiny of consulting industry practices. McKinsey's service capabilities span traditional strategy consulting through McKinsey Digital (digital transformation, analytics), QuantumBlack (AI and machine learning, acquired 2015), and McKinsey Technology (CTO/CIO advisory, technology strategy) — with over 7,000 employees in digital and technology roles and approximately 40% of 2024 projects estimated to be AI-related. McKinsey's "State of AI in 2025" report found that organizations now mitigate an average of four AI-related risks (versus two in 2022) and that AI high performers (6% of survey respondents) attribute 5%+ EBIT improvement to AI, with AI agents increasingly deployed as virtual coworkers rather than passive research assistants.
Business Model & Competitive Advantage
McKinsey's partnership consulting model addresses the strategic decision quality problem that large organization CEOs face when contemplating transformative decisions with imperfect information: a CEO evaluating whether to acquire a competitor for $5 billion, exit a product category generating $3 billion in revenue, or reorganize a 50,000-person sales force needs an external perspective combining industry benchmarking data (comparative performance against 200+ similar companies), functional expertise (the McKinsey partner who has advised 15 previous sales force reorganizations), and analytical rigor (the team of associates and engagement managers who model scenarios and test hypotheses over 12-week engagements) that the internal strategy team cannot provide at the same depth or objectivity. McKinsey's alumni network (former McKinsey consultants who become CEOs, CFOs, and board directors at major corporations) creates a self-reinforcing hiring relationship — corporations whose leaders are McKinsey alumni naturally turn to McKinsey for major engagements.
Competitive Landscape 2025–2026
In 2025, McKinsey competes in the global management consulting market with Boston Consulting Group (private, MBB peer, $13B+ revenue), Bain & Company (private, MBB peer, $7B+ revenue), and Deloitte Consulting (private, Big Four consulting, $25B+ revenue) for C-suite engagement with Fortune 500 and major institutional clients on AI transformation, M&A strategy, and operational improvement. McKinsey's QuantumBlack AI capability (350+ AI scientists and data engineers) and the firm's "AI Rewired" organizational transformation framework position McKinsey as the leading management consultant for enterprise AI strategy — competing with EY, Accenture, and Deloitte for the large-scale AI implementation programs that generate multi-year consulting revenue streams. The firm's <1% acceptance rate for consulting positions reflects both its selective hiring and its brand premium as the highest-prestige employer in consulting. The 2025 strategy focuses on AI transformation advisory (the dominant growth vector), public sector and defense consulting (growing demand from government AI programs), and building proprietary AI tools that enhance consultant productivity and client deliverable quality.
The McKinsey & Company Story
Founders
Recent Activity
View all →The strongest chemical company transformations in Europe perform a difficult balancing act: improving performance while radically reshaping portfolios, operations, and capital allocation.
Healthcare is in a productivity crisis that more hiring and more technology alone will not solve. The next era of care depends on making automation work through human–AI workflows.
New McKinsey research explains why organizations that repeatedly build new ventures outperform those that approach innovation as a one-off effort.
Miro cofounder and CEO Andrey Khusid reflects on the company’s evolution from a digital whiteboard to an AI-powered workflow platform—and how AI is reshaping competitive advantage in software.
Betsy Nabel, a leader and advocate for women in healthcare, reflects on the moves she’s made in her career to stay true to herself while creating lasting impact for medical students and patients.
Closing the women’s health gap in the United Kingdom could result in ten more healthy days of life per year for every woman—and potentially boost the country’s economy by £36 billion annually by 2040.
We asked McKinsey Global Publishing and Marketing colleagues to share what’s on their bookshelves this year—here’s what they said.
McKinsey Global Publishing’s annual reading list is back, featuring compelling recommendations from a diverse group of leaders across the world. Our contributors have nearly 100 books for you to choose from.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping film and TV production from script to screen—but the biggest disruptions may not be the ones anyone is predicting.
In striving for business growth while creating value for society, Suphachai Chearavanont has based his leadership strategy on looking beyond short-term gains to sustainable social impact and scale.
Global steel investment is flat, but DRI-EAF production is gaining share in advanced economies.
Demand for batteries is surging as electric vehicles and storage grow, but competitiveness depends on securing materials, ramping up gigafactories, and building the local ecosystems needed to compete.
Company Timeline
Major milestones in McKinsey & Company's journey
Leadership Team
Meet the leaders behind McKinsey & Company
Bob Sternfels
13th partner to lead McKinsey since 1926. First elected in 2021, reelected in February 2024 for second and final three-year term beginning July 2024. Joined McKinsey in San Francisco in 1994 and has worked at the firm for nearly 30 years.
Marvin Bower
Joined McKinsey in 1933, established firm's values and principles in 1937. Resurrected New York office as McKinsey & Company in 1939 after founder's death. Served as managing director 1950-1967, expanding into Europe and establishing culture of excellence.
James O. McKinsey
Founded firm in Chicago in 1926 as University of Chicago accounting professor. Published 'Budgetary Control' (1922), first definitive work on budgeting. Developed General Survey Outline in 1931. Died unexpectedly in 1937 at age 48.
Rajat Gupta
First non-American-born Managing Director of McKinsey, promoted in the 1990s. Led firm's expansion into Asia during his tenure.
Horace 'Guy' Crockett
Led New York practice and became managing partner of new McKinsey & Company in 1939. Provided steady operational leadership during WWII and 1940s. Stepped down in 1959, succeeded by Marvin Bower.
Key Differentiators
Market Leader
McKinsey & Company is recognized as a market leader in the Professional Services sector, demonstrating strong industry presence and customer trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
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