Meet the 100,000 connections you didn't know you have

When Marvin Bower became Managing Director of McKinsey in 1950, he knew all 84 consulting colleagues (and just about every alum) by name. “Today,” says Senior Partner David Schoeman, a co-leader of Alumni Strategy and Engagement, “that’s just not possible.”

As it enters its second century, our Firm has grown, as has its alumni community—now 70,000 worldwide.

Klaus Behrenbeck, also a Senior Partner and co-leader of Alumni Strategy and Engagement, says, “There’s strength in that scale, but it also makes these connections more complicated to navigate. We wanted to help colleagues and alumni find each other based on mutual experience, industries, locations, and personal or professional interests.”

As it turns out, one of our alumni was thinking the same, and pitched a data-driven platform—a network that helps users build connections through shared exposure and expertise.

After a successful beta launch, led by our German offices, the resulting McKinsey Network is officially open for connections worldwide.

David says, “We want to help people who join our Firm succeed throughout their professional journey whether they stay here or become alumni, and this will be one of the many tools we have available to connect our community.” He continues, “We’ve long hosted alumni events, shared learning opportunities, sent curated alumni and Firm news, offered robust career support services, and much else.”

Klaus adds, “What's special about the McKinsey Network is that it's not just aimed at alumni, but also promotes exchange between alumni and current colleagues. This creates a vibrant community that connects knowledge and experience across generations of our Firm.”

We sat down with David and Klaus to learn more about the Network (and how to make the most of it!). 

Congratulations on the beta launch! What were some of your takeaways from the initial response?

David: Thank you! For me, the experience confirmed that there’s a need for this Network. We started by introducing it to small groups within the German alumni community—which is actually the second largest in the Firm—and have been gradually expanding since. We’re now at about 5,000 active users!

Klaus: What’s been so exciting is that this community growth has been largely word of mouth. During our pilot, people began adding their former colleagues. They’ve created their own interest groups. They’re getting together for coffee chats. They’re circulating opportunities. They’re sharing articles and book recommendations.

We know that as alumni and colleagues continue to join (and as we continue to add features) it’ll become an even more powerful platform.

What will new users find when they join?

Klaus: While the Network is on a private, secure platform, its user interface should feel familiar. Users can import their LinkedIn profile data and receive suggestions for relevant networking opportunities.

In fact, your profile will be pre-seeded with connections to colleagues whom you worked with, based on charge codes and large trainings. The platform also makes suggestions for others you may know.

It also allows for targeted searches, so it’s easy to find former team members and future thought partners. You can easily join or form your own groups to share expertise and exchange ideas. The goal is a more interconnected and interactive alumni and colleague network.

Any pro tips for reaching out to people?

Klaus: If I’m reaching out to them directly on the Network, I click “connect” and that serves as an icebreaker of sorts. The Network makes it easy to find connections based on shared interests, so that can serve as a conversation starter too. From there, I simply send an email.

David: Often I’ll just say, “It’s been a while. I stumbled across your name on the McKinsey Network.”

If I’m traveling, I’ll use it as an opportunity to ping some alumni in the area, either for location recommendations or a coffee catch-up. Genuine interest is the best “in.”

Klaus: We’ve found that a lot of alumni outreach happens during career transitions. McKinsey alumni tend to be incredibly responsive during these periods; we can all relate, and through our time here, we’ve all developed an appreciation for apprenticeship and sponsorship.

David: Absolutely. Having gone through our processes and developed problem-solving toolkits while at our Firm, alumni understand the effort we put into recruiting intelligent, value-oriented talent. A colleague or alum reaching out has that stamp of approval—it’s almost a prescreening that ensures that the conversation will at the very least be interesting.

How do you hope alumni and colleagues will make use of this Network?

Klaus: At its simplest, it’s a way to keep track of the people we worked with intensely in the past, but who have moved on from our Firm in their careers. It’s also a place to crowdsource answers about everything from the latest tech developments to book recommendations.

David: When you’re actively working at McKinsey, it can be easy to take it for granted what an incredible group of experts and problem solvers are here. Being here means that I can pick up the phone and call any colleague to discuss any topic that will help get our team to the right answer.

We hear from our alumni that once they leave McKinsey, they don’t always know who to reach out to. We think the McKinsey Network can help there. Even when it doesn’t make sense to engage our Firm directly, we want alumni to know that there’s this massive community with vast and deep expertise.

It’s fitting that the impetus for adopting this platform was an alum’s suggestion. How else have alumni and their ideas shaped your work?

gif scrolling through Mckinsey network groups

David: I’ve found this community to be a great source of connection—and I don’t just mean for engagements, but to spark ideas. I’ll call up alumni to see what interesting things they’re exploring and what problems they’re tackling. It’s guaranteed to be an interesting conversation.

I particularly love staying in touch with alumni who were on engagements with me—people who have shaped my career development, and whom I hope I’ve helped along in theirs.

There’s nothing better than seeing someone who was once on your team become the CFO of a multinational corporation, the head of a banking division, the top of their chosen field. That’s been incredibly rewarding.

What are your hopes for the McKinsey Network?

David: This is a group of people who have given so much to our Firm. We feel an obligation to give back to them. We want this Network to help in that.

It’s an evolution in how we create and sustain relationships in our ever-growing community. It empowers the people who’ve made our Firm what it is to connect without a formal intermediary.

Klaus: This takes us one step closer to replacing the existing Directory on the Alumni Center website with a more interactive, robust networking tool. Our goal is to bring the McKinsey family closer together and unlock the full potential of our network—true to our motto: “Turning the network’s size into strength.”