McKinsey Korea

About Richard

Richard Dobbs is a director of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey's business and economics research arm, and a director (senior partner) of McKinsey based in Seoul.

From 2004 to 2009, Richard co-led McKinsey's Corporate Finance Practice, where he was also responsible for research and development. He has served clients around the world in a variety of industries, ranging from high tech and financial services to petroleum, utilities, and the public sector.

Richard has written numerous articles about the implications of the financial crisis for companies and managing in a downturn. At MGI, he has led research on global economic trends, including urbanization, resource markets, capital markets, and productivity and growth, with a focus on Asia. Other research has focused on performance management and measurement, mergers and acquisitions, valuation, capital markets strategy, and utility regulation. He co-authored Value: The Four Cornerstones of Corporate Finance, which offers detailed discussions of portfolio theory, M&A, risk, capital structure and investor communications to help managers understand and develop strategies related to these topics.

Richard’s perspectives are included in several books, including Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, as well as in leading business and academic journals such as the McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey on Finance, and Corporate Finance. He has also contributed bylined articles to opinion pages of leading newspapers and business publications. In addition to his writing, Richard is a frequent speaker at international conferences and is an associate fellow of the Said Business School at Oxford University, where he has taught the valuation elective.

Before joining McKinsey, Richard obtained a first-class degree and won the Metal Box and Lubbock Prizes at Oxford University. He was sponsored by Shell UK during his studies and worked for Shell’s North Sea exploration and production business. He was a Fulbright scholar at Stanford Business School, where he graduated as an Arjay Miller scholar and was awarded the Robichek Award for Finance.

Published work

“China’s rising stature in global finance,”
McKinsey Quarterly, July 2013

“Myanmar's moment: Unique opportunities, major challenges,”
McKinsey Global Institute, June 2013

“Financial globalization: Retreat or reset,”
McKinsey Global Institute, March 2013

“The archipelago economy: Unleashing Indonesia's potential”
McKinsey Global Institute, September 2012

“Beyond the boom: Australia's productivity imperative”
McKinsey Global Institute, August 2012

“The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies”
McKinsey Global Institute, July 2012

“Urban world: Cities and the rise of the consuming class”
McKinsey Global Institute, June 2012

“The world at work: Jobs, pay, and skills for 3.5 billion people”
McKinsey Global Institute, June 2012

“Trading myths: Addressing misconceptions about trade, jobs, and competitiveness”
McKinsey Global Institute, May 2012

“Urban America: US cities in the global economy”
McKinsey Global Institute, April 2012

“Sustaining Vietnam's growth: The productivity challenge”
McKinsey Global Institute, February 2012

“Debt and deleveraging: Uneven progress on the path to growth”
McKinsey Global Institute, January 2012

Education