Vivian
Director
Travel Bug
My father was an officer in the Air Force, and prior to high school I had lived in five different locations, including Asia; Montgomery, AL; Montana; and Boston. Seeing so much of the world at a young age made me quite open to traveling, living, and working abroad, and I have found the geographic range of McKinsey a real strength. Most of my career has been outside the U.S., in such countries as Senegal, where I was in the Peace Corps doing primary health care from 1989-1991, and the UK, where I am now a director at McKinsey.
"McKinsey is a culturally, geographically, and ethnically diverse place."
New Opportunities
Coming out of business school, I knew I wanted to work in healthcare but was not clear on which area. I thought consulting at McKinsey would be a good way to test out different parts of the industry. I joined as a summer associate in the New York Office, and then joined the Boston Office out of business school. After 2 years, my husband got a great job in London, and I was able to transfer to the UK through McKinsey. It was a very smooth transition and offered new opportunities for both of us.
Apprenticeship in Health Care
I’ve experienced a wide range of healthcare-related topics: insurance, consumer healthcare, market access strategy. I’ve done a lot of work in growth, as well as several years in payor and provider systems. It’s been a broad apprenticeship—if you fall ill you need all kinds of things to help make you better—and the scope of knowledge within our firm allows us to develop unique solutions for our clients. Our work with one client, for example, touches on strategy, operations, growth talent mindsets, and behaviors. All are required for them to be successful.
Find Your Passion
The functional, geographic, and topical range of McKinsey is one of the things I appreciate most about the firm. Whatever your passion—if you’re interested in petroleum in East Africa or healthcare in Norway, for example— you can learn about that. There are people at the firm who will help guide you in whatever you hope to achieve.
Free Time
Like so many people, I have many “full time” jobs – wife, mother, friend, daughter, and professional. Being a McKinsey director is one of many roles. I try to ensure a balanced, well-planned schedule across all of these elements. My husband and I spend a lot of time with our children and friends on weekends. Now that the children are a little older (3 and 5) we hope to share with them our love of travel and discovering new cultures.