Mark

Engagement Manager

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am recently married and managed to escape work for three and a half weeks to travel to California and Mexico. I am a very active person and enjoy sports in my spare time—I play squash and football with McKinsey colleagues and cycle to work when I am living in London (currently a 20-mile each way commute!). I am also working my way through climbing the world’s highest mountains (I have managed Europe and Southeast Asia so far, but not quite Everest!).

Tell us a bit about your career before McKinsey.

Having studied mathematics at university, I chose an analytical start to my career, training to be an actuary for three years (including taking 15 professional exams) and working for five years in benefits consulting (specialising in pensions) in the United Kingdom. Despite enjoying my work and progressing in this career, I always found myself more interested in the wider business issues of my clients rather than just their pension plans. On investigating a move to management consulting (following meeting another actuary who had moved to McKinsey) I found significant similarities in the skills needed in both careers and began to believe a move was achievable.

What made McKinsey seem like a good fit for you?

From the outside in I realised that the parts of my old job I enjoyed (working with clients, developing innovative solutions, and working with like-minded people) were largely what was involved in consulting at McKinsey. When interviewing I was very interested in the problems we discussed and found the individuals I met friendly and inspiring—the people factor was a large part of my decision to join McKinsey as I felt that these were people I could work with and aspire to be like.

Describe one of the highlights of your McKinsey experience.

As a fresh-faced associate, my first study involved a trip to India. We made arrangements to hold an interactive workshop with 20 customers of our client and meet senior managers in Mumbai. The experience of working with a different market and understanding the differences/similarities in working style and issues they face was something I had never experienced before. We also found time on the trip to do sightseeing in Mumbai and go to a club launch attended by several Bollywood celebs!

Describe your McKinsey colleagues and the McKinsey culture?

The McKinsey culture is very supportive and friendly—I have made friends with all of the colleagues I have worked with on my projects so far. Expectations are high, and I find that the people I work with make some of the hard times bearable and the better times brilliant. There is also a true 'open-door' culture—working recently on a proposal I talked to partners from five countries around the world within the course of a day.
In addition, the training courses I have attended have enabled me to meet other associates from around the world whom I have built lasting relationships with.

What have been your biggest learnings at McKinsey?

My biggest learnings have been to think like a CEO and to share responsibility with the client. When we are approaching problems we need to be able to work through detailed analysis and then step back and interpret this from the point of view of senior leaders in the business. This combination is hard to achieve but generates insights and raises the quality of our work in an unrivalled way.

How did you 'make your own McKinsey'?

I have been building my network by working in different sectors, so I have currently built a very varied profile.

How have you pursued your own interests at McKinsey?

On joining, I had a 'hit list' of industries I wanted to experience, and I have been working through this list. The flexibility of the staffing process has been excellent in allowing me to pursue projects I am interested in.