Tanguy

Associate Principal

I have dual French and Belgian citizenship. My wife and I moved to the United States so I could pursue an M.B.A. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We have three children—a boy and a girl who are twins, and a younger daughter. My kids are my passion in life.

McKinsey ensured my success
My twins were born prematurely in 2003 when I was a summer associate at McKinsey. When I rejoined McKinsey in 2004, they still had serious medical issues. I was on a Fulbright Scholarship and my visa was expiring, but I wanted to stay in Boston to give them the medical care they needed.

McKinsey did a number of extraordinary things. First, they solved my health insurance issues and covered my children’s needs, no questions asked. Second, they helped me get a new visa, which is almost impossible. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Office said I needed letters from 10 CEOs of major U.S. corporations. McKinsey gave me the opportunity to work on projects with 10 CEOs. I got the 10 letters and the visa, and I was able to stay. The help I got from McKinsey’s leaders was a form of mentorship, not in the sense of developing my skills but making sure I was successful in my life, which means so much more to me.

I’ve developed skills quickly
I have developed my skills at McKinsey much faster than at any other place I could dream of. I’m thinking of leadership skills in particular. Often I’m sitting with high-level executives talking about a huge challenge they have, and they consider me a peer. That’s an amazing feeling.

Another skill I’ve gained is understanding what drives value in an organization, and how to unlock value for a client. Even if a client’s vision is far from its current reality, I know the levers to pull and the actions to get the client there. That makes me much more ambitious.

And a third skill is being a better human being. The more people you make successful around you, the more successful and happy you will be yourself. That comes with serving clients, helping my team members succeed, and being there for my family.

I’ve learned that my ideas count
I have worked with people who manage pension assets in excess of a trillion dollars. They could make or break Wall Street overnight if they wanted to. I have worked with people who can change industries, even change society. It’s unbelievable. I think working with people at that level teaches you humility, which is very important. But it also teaches you that your ideas have value. It gives you confidence and courage to talk about your vision and have that translate into something meaningful. Before you know it, you realize that not only do you have ideas but you know how to get them executed. That is so empowering.

Learning values and passing them along
I’ve been fortunate to work with one or two people who believed in me and were extraordinary people. They have helped me grow and created opportunities to work with the clients I wanted to work with, including very senior executives.

McKinsey is driven by values that I completely embrace, so from day one I was also modeling those values. By doing so, I’ve become a mentor to others, especially more junior people. So I think I’ve been able to help a large number of associates and created opportunities for them to grow. I hope I can do more of that as I grow in my career.

I’ve discovered my niche
Through working at McKinsey I’ve learned that I would not be the best entrepreneur. I would be much better at taking over an existing company and helping it grow. The skills you need to start something are very different. More and more, I think that a few years down the road I would be inclined to take a position with a midsize company, either buying the company or taking the CEO position there, and then growing that company.