McKinsey & Company

As the agriculture technology (agtech) industry adapts to a new normal in fundraising—and a vastly different macroeconomic climate than in years past—investment opportunities are slowly starting to emerge. Instead of waiting on the sidelines for conditions to stabilize, strategic companies and financial investors can use this limited window of opportunity to make bold moves and gain a competitive advantage.Over the past few years, the agtech industry has faced a major…

How do you create a superior customer experience while also improving cost efficiency, productivity, and employee experience? The tension between service and cost is a perennial challenge for organizations, and it becomes particularly acute during periods of economic uncertainty. Many companies are finding themselves in such a period right now. But today’s business leaders have advantages that their predecessors did not. The rapid evolution of AI technologies has redefined operational…

Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT exploded into public view in late 2022, the possibilities of generative AI (gen AI) have captured imaginations throughout the business world. When it comes to crafting an effective talent strategy, organizations have focused mostly on how gen AI can increase productivity levels. This is understandable, given the trillions in value at stake. However, it may not be the most strategic approach. To match the right talent…

Southeast Asia’s economies exhibited robust performance in the fourth quarter 2023. GDP grew in all economies, with growth in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam increasing during this period, while Malaysia and the Philippines recorded slower growth (Exhibit 1). Strong domestic demand, backed by stable employment prospects and easing prices, along with a continued recovery of the services sector—particularly tourism—and early signs of improvement in exports demand supported growth. The view…

At a glance More than two-thirds of Black and Latino US residents live in the nation’s largest cities, compared to less than half of White residents. While this means some of the issues and barriers facing these two groups are highly concentrated, solutions also can be highly targeted. Nowhere do either Black or Latino residents experience even three-quarters the average overall well-being of their White neighbors, although Latino–White disparities are…

Subscribe to get the Insights to Impact briefing in your inbox weekly March 14, 2024 This week’s headline findings: Customer demands. Organizational customer care leaders find themselves trapped in no-man’s-land as they balance preparing for an AI-enabled future with managing escalating customer expectations in a rapidly digitizing contact center environment. Partners Eric Buesing, Julian Raabe, and coauthors report that more than 80 percent of organizations are investing in generative AI or plan…

Generative AI (gen AI) presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for companies, with the potential for transformative impact across innovation, growth, and productivity. The technology can now produce credible software code, text, speech, high-fidelity images, and interactive videos. It has identified the potential for millions of new materials through crystal structures and even developed molecular models that may serve as the base for finding cures for previously untreated diseases.McKinsey research has estimated…

At a glance Health can be meaningfully modified by factors outside traditional healthcare systems, including work factors. Employers have considerable opportunities to improve health through six modifiable drivers: social interaction, mindsets and beliefs, productive activity, stress, economic security, and sleep. Globally, improving employee health and well-being could create $3.7 trillion to $11.7 trillion in economic value. Imagine a world in which employers make evidence-based investments in the health of their…

This year US health insurers have to navigate strong crosscurrents from demographic shifts, regulatory changes, and member preferences. How they react now can have an impact for years to come. By Gabe Isaacson, Dan Jamieson, Sonja Pedersen-Green, and Cara Repasky The undeniable story of early 2024 for US health insurers has been the sustained economic pressures that Medicare Advantage (MA) payers are experiencing. This was borne out in 2023 year-end…

Customer care leaders are facing their greatest challenge in decades. They must prepare their organizations for an AI-enabled future while simultaneously meeting tough commercial targets and rising customer expectations. Our latest global survey suggests that many companies are struggling on all these fronts.Major disruptions are always painful, and the transition from a care paradigm dominated by human agents to one steered by AI technologies may be the biggest disruption in…

As 2024 gains momentum, it’s significant to note that this year is marked by the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac. The dragon, symbolizing strength and good fortune, frames the backdrop for China’s journey forward after a challenging 2023. The previous year saw China navigating the aftermath of the pandemic, with its economy starting to recover from stringent lockdowns and travel restrictions.Despite substantial challenges in the real…

In this episode of The Committed Innovator, American Red Cross chief innovation officer Sajit Joseph speaks with McKinsey innovation leader Erik Roth about the challenges and opportunities involved with innovation in a not-for-profit setting, where the goal is return on impact and teams can include volunteers. This is an edited transcript of their discussion. You can listen to the full episode on your preferred podcast platform. Every time we go…

M &A can offer a powerful lever for executing strategy, transforming organizations, and delivering exceptional value creation. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, two McKinsey experts talk about how executives under pressure to create more value for shareholders and stakeholders can benefit from using a transaction as an opportunity to transform the entire organization. Alex Liu is a partner in McKinsey’s Minneapolis office and a leader…

Many types of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities have accelerated in recent years due to tumbling costs of data storage and processing, rapidly expanding data availability, and improved data storage and modelling techniques. In general, analytical AI can analyze historical data and make numeric predictions, while generative AI (gen AI) allows machines to produce new outputs similar to human-generated content. Gen AI, in particular, has been building momentum since 2017 and…

CEOs who place marketing at the core of their growth strategies are twice as likely as their peers to have greater than 5 percent annual growth, according to a recent survey McKinsey conducted with input from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). CEOs and chief marketing officers (CMOs) must work together closely for any marketing plan to flourish. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey partner Robert Tas joins…

Inspiring leaders motivate their teams to embrace the opportunities and growth inherent in change, according to Neeti Bhalla Johnson, the president of Global Risk Solutions at Liberty Mutual Insurance (Liberty). Born in India and raised in Kenya, Bhalla Johnson is passionate about furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion at the insurer, cosponsoring a group for Asian professionals there and participating in its women’s networking and advocacy group. She spoke with McKinsey…

Barbara Karuth-Zelle, COO and board member of Allianz, is passionate about driving technology and AI innovation for a sustainable future. She’s spent more than 20 years at the insurer—including as CEO of Allianz Technology, its internal technology service provider—and is known for her ability to assemble diverse teams that get things done quickly. Karuth-Zelle spoke with McKinsey senior partner Jörg Mußhoff about generative AI (gen AI), digital transformations, sustainability, and…

Jayne Plunkett, chief risk officer (CRO) of pan-Asian insurer AIA Group, has held leadership roles across the full spectrum of insurance products and services, including primary insurance, reinsurance, frontline underwriting, and risk management. In a conversation with Bernhard Kotanko, McKinsey senior partner and head of the firm’s Asia–Pacific insurance practice, Plunkett shared her perspectives on the role of insurance, her approach to risk management, and her personal journey as a…

Asia’s business leaders should prepare themselves for potential turbulence as global dynamics shift and challenges escalate. Over the past three decades, Asia has reaped more benefits from a globalizing world than any other region, but that landscape is becoming more contested, and risks are rising. The region’s rise to prominence could mean that it finds itself in the eye of the storm. This article was developed by McKinsey, in collaboration…

In the past decade, manufacturing in Vietnam has been at the epicenter of the country’s high growth. This sector contributed more than 20 percent to the country’s GDP and has been an anchor in Vietnam’s trade balance, helping to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). It played a significant role in the remarkable resilience that Vietnam’s economy demonstrated in the face of global upheaval, which maintained a positive GDP growth rate…

Billions of people rely on healthy oceans as a source of jobs and food, and demand for fish protein is only increasing. Projections show growth of 14 percent by 2030 versus 2020 levels, driven by growing markets in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania. That said, the amount of wild-caught seafood remains flat, with more than 85 percent of the world’s fisheries pushed to or beyond their limits. This means…

The pandemic has forced major changes in how, when, and where people work. It has also bedeviled employers. Due in part to new hybrid and remote-working models, companies are struggling to find objective ways to gauge employee effectiveness—a critical challenge as labor costs have increased and worker productivity has declined. According to new McKinsey research, employee disengagement and attrition could cost a median-size S&P 500 company between $228 million and…

Across the United States, renewable energy sources are impacting natural gas generation. The growth of renewables in the grid, compounded by the increased electrification of energy demand, will expose the grid to the risks of an intermittent renewables supply to meet growing power demand. As a result, in the coming decades, a fully “dispatchable” backup energy supply will be required to ensure the reliability of the power grid for multiday…

Compared with other critical business functions such as sales or customer operations, software development is perennially undermeasured. The long-held belief by many in tech is that it’s not possible to do it correctly—and that, in any case, only trained engineers are knowledgeable enough to assess the performance of their peers. Yet that status quo is no longer sustainable. Now that most companies are becoming (to one degree or another) software…

In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, two authors of a recent article on the CEO transition discuss how incoming leaders can make the most of their first 12 months in the role. Carolyn Dewar, who co-leads McKinsey’s CEO excellence work, is a co-author of last year’s bestseller CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest. Kurt Strovink is co-leader of McKinsey’s global…

Mark van Nieuwland is the vice president of Bovaer, a methane-reducing feed additive, at Swiss-Dutch nutrition, health, and beauty company dsm-firmenich (DSM). Joshua Katz, a McKinsey partner and leader in the agriculture and private equity space, and Wilson Roen, a McKinsey consultant and sustainability fellow, talked with Mark about the development of Bovaer, how the agriculture industry can encourage further adoption among farmers, and what the world can do to…

Chuck Mattera, chair and CEO of Coherent, formerly II-VI, has spent a lifetime building businesses by harnessing breakthrough technologies. At Coherent, he has championed a strategy focused on acquisitions to achieve scale and deliver innovations in the industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets. McKinsey’s André Andonian and Abhijit Mahindroo sat down with him to discuss the lessons he has learned and his plans for the future. An edited version of…

Russia’s war in Ukraine is an ongoing tragedy, destroying lives and livelihoods in Ukraine and altering economic patterns worldwide. In May 2022, we set out an initial analysis of 12 disruptions that the war could unleash. With the passage of time, it seems increasingly likely that the war, coming so soon after a global pandemic, could presage a new economic era. We have been here before: today’s shocks are reminiscent…

When buying an electric vehicle, consumers want an experience that matches their expectations of the car itself. That is, something exciting and innovative but also reliable and predictable. They expect to both transact online and negotiate with a real person, and they still need to take a test drive. However, the overall experience needs to be more seamless, more personalized, and more flexible than it was in the days of…

How will hotel operators use new technologies, respond to travelers’ changing needs and preferences, and become more sustainable? Five leaders of McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice envision what the hotel experience might be like in the 2030s. The following transcript has been edited for clarity. Convenience and customization Caroline Tufft: The big change that I anticipate, more than anything, in hotels in the future is that every single pain…

Private capital loved software —or it did for about a decade, during which capital deployment skyrocketed. In more recent quarters, software markets have reflected global macroeconomic uncertainty. Publicly listed companies’ multiples swooned; access to debt markets tightened; and private markets continued to hold large amounts of dry powder. Developments in banking that have affected major tech-financing entities may also affect capital raises for software. Developments in banking that have affected…

After signs of improving economic sentiment in the spring, consumer spending seems to be in a summer slump. Across age and income groups, American consumers continue to spend less than they did a year prior—except on travel. Real year-over-year spending has declined for the third month in a row, while for the first time in more than two years, nominal spending growth is now negative as well. Will US consumer…

When have you been your most productive, creative, or innovative? Think back to a time when you really made yourself proud, and try to remember the environment you were working in. Maybe it’s your current job, if you have challenging work and supportive, engaged colleagues. Maybe it was at university, when you ate your meals in a dining hall and had an adviser to help figure out your course schedule.…

ZeroNorth uses data to help shipping companies become more efficient and, by extension, greener. Its interactive platform provides simulations, predictions, analysis, and data-driven insights that can aid shipping companies in their quest to traverse oceans while consuming less fuel. Founded in June 2020, the Copenhagen-based start-up now has about 200 employees in six locations around the globe. ZeroNorth says it helped prevent more than 440,000 tons of CO2 from being…

American restaurant executives are bracing for another challenging year. While some supply challenges and immediate inflationary pressures have abated, many leaders anticipate hefty annual increases in labor and input costs over the next five years. Restaurants also continue to endure pressure to meet evolving consumer demands in an increasingly competitive environment. A previous article detailed eight “ingredients” for profitable growth—areas of focus that can help restaurants succeed even during a…

Pervasive societal inequity in the United States is strikingly evident in the start-up world. In 2022, Black and Latino founders received only 1 percent and 1.5 percent respectively of total US venture capital (VC) funding. Women-founded teams received 1.9 percent of VC funds, and only 0.1 percent of VC funds went to Black and Latino women founders. It’s a gap that persists through each stage of growth. Looking at the…

It’s easy to go along to get along: give lots of managers an equal say and allot each division its “fair share” of capital. Usually, however, a laissez-faire approach underserves a corporation’s most promising opportunities for growth. Companies typically provide lump sums to division heads, often in proportion to current revenue; choices about funding get pushed across the organization and down its hierarchies, with the result that historic performance repeats…

If you shopped at a FairPrice supermarket in Singapore in early 2022, there’s a small chance that the person who was working the till was none other than FairPrice’s freshly minted group CEO, Vipul Chawla. “Unless I invest at least 100 hours doing something, I don’t have the license to have a conversation with my team, let alone make decisions,” Chawla says. During his first three months with the company,…

Challenging the perception that insurance is a low-tech industry, AIA Group has updated its offerings and processes to become more accessible to millions of customers in Asia. In this episode of the McKinsey on Insurance podcast, Biswa Misra, the group chief technology officer and life operations officer at AIA, spoke to McKinsey senior partner Anand Swaminathan about how he helped chart a course for change, the importance of strong teams…

Over the past few decades, industrial automation has evolved gradually, with few changes in market structure. But the pace of change is accelerating, thanks to technology disruptions and macro trends such as reshoring, a global skilled labor shortage, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts. Is the day likewise coming when software-defined manufacturing will turn shop floors into “smartphones with robotic arms”? A scenario analysis by McKinsey suggests the answer…