McKinsey partners re-elect Bob Sternfels after leadership challenge

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Bob Sternfels has been re-elected as international managing accomplice of McKinsey after a harder than anticipated contest that uncovered divisions among the many consultancy’s senior companions about his management type.

Sternfels defeated the pinnacle of McKinsey’s digital technique follow, Rodney Zemmel, in a run-off election, in line with individuals aware of the method.

The result signifies that Sternfels has prevented the destiny of his predecessor, Kevin Sneader, who was voted out in 2021, changing into the primary international managing accomplice since 1976 to not win a second time period.

Sternfels has doubled down on Sneader’s investments in danger and compliance capabilities and new processes to vet purchasers following a sequence of scandals, together with over the agency’s work for drug corporations accused of fuelling the US opioid dependancy disaster.

He has additionally pushed to combine the agency to raised serve international purchasers, telling the Monetary Occasions final 12 months that the challenge would span greater than a single management time period. International managing companions are restricted to 2 phrases.

Zemmel had emerged as Sternfels’ strongest challenger in a three-round election course of, which uncovered complaints among the many agency’s 750 senior companions that Sternfels had concentrated decision-making within the palms of too few executives and mishandled the lay-offs of 1,400 back-office workers final 12 months.

Sternfels, 54, is a 30-year McKinsey veteran, having joined the agency in San Francisco in 1994. He beforehand led the agency’s operations follow within the Americas and its non-public fairness follow globally.

The announcement of his re-election got here on the identical day he was referred to as to look in entrance of a US Senate committee to reply claims the agency had didn’t adjust to a congressional subpoena of paperwork associated to its work with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

McKinsey generated a file $16bn income in 2023, regardless of a broad slowdown within the consulting trade. It doesn’t disclose earnings.

Lately, the agency has “deepened its capabilities in implementation, digital and organisational transformation, and sustainability consulting, together with by buying greater than 25 corporations”, McKinsey mentioned in a press release saying Sternfels’ re-election.