By Sallah Kokaina – I come from a small town in Morocco. One of my favorite childhood memories is of watching my uncle repair televisions there: seeing all those circuits and what went on behind the screens felt like magic to me. Later, I fell under the spell of video games, which sparked my interest in programming and ultimately led me to study computer science at an engineering school in France and pursue a career in software engineering.
The joy of making digital human
After an initial career in Silicon Valley, France, and the UK, I came back to Morocco to find ways to support software engineering growth on our continent. While working in Casablanca, I heard about an intriguing opportunity—the chance to join the firm and have a larger impact at McKinsey, which I considered to have the preeminent digital factory. I decided to give it a shot. My tendency has always been to do more, make a bigger impact—and it turns out that’s what McKinsey is all about.
My official job description is helping businesses transform through advanced technology. This involves software engineering and architecture, IT strategy, and digital delivery. In practice, I build platforms and lighthouses for the delivery life cycles of industrialized software. I also conduct R&D and boost engineering productivity.
This role is even more rewarding and enjoyable than you might imagine. Partly because I love tech and software. Mostly, though, it’s because I love to use what I love to bring people joy. The best part is helping solve human problems, which is at the heart of most tech challenges. There’s nothing like seeing the smiles on clients’ and colleagues’ faces when they realize what technology can do for them.
Warp-speed innovation
I also like to connect with people who share my passion for technology. I founded the first Engineering Craft International Unconference on the continent, and every year, I meet up with the local engineering community there.
At McKinsey, our client hackathons are an ideal way to foster connection. Think of them as hyper-accelerated innovation boot camps where participants fast-track development ideas and build knowledge at lightning speed.
We hosted our first hackathon last year in Saudi Arabia. 75 people attended. In one day, they built frontend and backend features for a personal finance solution—a backlog of features that normally takes three weeks from ideation to development.
Our second hackathon took place in Dubai just this past April. We tasked attendees with implementing six features for a financial app—a project that usually takes at least a few weeks. They had to do it in just 24 hours. We provided guidance and coaching to assist them throughout the process, but the real magic happened when the participants took the lead.
QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey
Reinvent your organization and accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth with AI consulting from QuantumBlack, the AI-arm of McKinsey & Company.
Tangible AI magic: turning strategy into swift results
One of the biggest challenges when clients adopt new technology like gen AI is figuring out where to begin. It’s not as simple as waving a magic wand. But companies often rush into proof-of-concept projects to demystify the tech. This can lead to multiple failed attempts when transitioning to production.
Fast is fine, but first you need a strategic approach. That’s why we tailor tools and platforms to maximize adoption and impact. We also help clients identify and establish the right operating model, manage change, and create a clear roadmap to their goals. Simply introducing a new tool isn’t going to guarantee results or successful scaling; transforming the whole organization is required.
To that end, we’ve been working on distinctive assets and approaches to give clients a jump start in their AI journey. One of these is I2I—Idea to Impact—a framework that helps integrate gen AI throughout the product development life cycle while giving clients greater control. It supports key business needs like standardization, cost control, and data management. Clients who have used it have seen boosts in productivity and efficiency, giving them more time for collaboration and more impactful tasks.
A company with a bold aspiration recently told us how impressed they were with our focus on tangibles instead of strategy points in our discussion with them. It was one of those moments where we were able to use tech to solve a problem in a very real way that made everyone in the room light up.
Our team achieved this by listening and truly understanding what mattered most to the people around the table. This approach has been one of the most valuable lessons I’ve internalized since joining the firm.