McKinsey brought together people from across the firm who had experience relevant to the client’s challenge.
Senior leadership
The focus of the senior team was to oversee the entire project while building strong relationships with the client’s leaders.
Nancy was the senior partner who had initially developed the client relationship. She understood the client’s culture, performance, and industry. Jon, the partner with day-to-day oversight of the study, enlisted Rebecca as engagement manager. Before joining McKinsey, she had been an Internet entrepreneur with a background in media. Since this was a large study, Yael, a partner from the New York office, was also brought in to help; Yael is a media expert with a background in music and film.
Production team
Yael and Rebecca coordinated the production team along with two associates—Allison, a first-year associate with a background in IT management, and Michael, who was previously a photojournalist and new to McKinsey.
They also brought in Filipe, a Production Systems Design Center (PSDC) business analyst in the Operations Practice, for his expertise in lean manufacturing. This study gave him the opportunity to apply manufacturing techniques to a media company, something he had not done before.
Promotions team
Farshad managed the promotions workstream. He worked with Christine, a senior business analyst. This was Christine’s first media study. She had always wanted to get firsthand experience in media, so she was excited to be part of the team.
Purchasing team
Atul, a senior associate who was training to become an engagement manager, headed the purchasing team. He had the support of Drew, an expert partner from McKinsey’s purchasing group. Abhishek, an associate who reviewed the client’s purchasing processes for HR benefits, travel, and logistics, also joined the team. This was Abhishek’s first engagement with McKinsey.