Where McKinsey—and Consulting—Go From Here

What It Covers

McKinsey global managing partner Bob Sternfels discusses the consulting firm's centennial transformation, including deploying 20,000 AI agents, shifting from advisory to outcomes-based work, and fundamentally changing talent recruitment beyond traditional elite pathways.

Key Questions Answered

• •AI workforce integration: McKinsey now employs 40,000 humans and 20,000 AI agents, up from 3,000 agents eighteen months ago, expecting one agent per human within eighteen months rather than the originally projected 2030 timeline for this transformation.
• •Outcomes-based consulting model: One-third of McKinsey's revenue now comes from underwriting client outcomes rather than traditional advisory fees, with the goal of reaching majority revenue from this model, aligning consultant incentives directly with measurable client results.
• •Talent selection overhaul: Analytics on twenty years of internal data revealed McKinsey screened for wrong criteria—resilience from setbacks, teamwork experience, and learning aptitude now matter more than perfect academic records from 500 elite pathways previously prioritized.
• •Post-AI skill priorities: AI excels at linear problem-solving but lacks aspiration-setting, judgment, and discontinuous creative thinking, prompting McKinsey to recruit liberal arts majors and focus on leadership capabilities that remain durable in an AI-augmented world.