McKinsey helps me be closer to business and decision–makers

I joined McKinsey as a business analyst in Moscow more than two years ago. I came from finance, starting my career at Unilever and at one of Russia’s big telecom carriers. I liked what I was doing and working in finance helped me get a clear picture of what was going on in each company. Yet, my function was far from business decisions and understanding the company’s products and customers. I wanted to be closer to all of that, so I decided to become a consultant.

Image 2
Image 2

My first engagement

From their very first projects, all colleagues at McKinsey gets a fairly high level of responsibility. Each member of a client service team is given anarea or workstream to own and we structure our own tasks, discuss them with the broader team and clients, analyze relevant data, and communicate our findings and recommendations. In my first project, I analyzed a solution with the potential to change my clients’ industry and saved their company billions of rubles.

My focus

My work at McKinsey has focused on banking given my expertise and continued passion for the industry. It’s a dynamic and exciting space because more banks are looking to transform; they seek new business models to better compete with emerging services, and they want to use the huge amount of data they have effectively. My role enables me to look for the answers with clients.

My most exciting project

My team was brought in to help a bank develop its retail strategy. The transformation schedule was tight, and our clients were very advanced problem–solvers and a bit skeptical we could add additional value. We brought in our global experts and engaged heavily with our clients at every stage of the process. Together, we developed a strong and realistic strategy and proved its benefits.

My best tip for success

Adapt your communication style to your listener. Be open to others’ opinions; understand their goals and issues. Also understand how they prefer to communicate. For instance, some people prefer simple, colloquial speech; others use a more formal tone.

Find roles like Dmitry’s

More about Dmitry

I have always been fond of math, so I decided to take a bachelor’s program with the MSU Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics. I never wanted to do programming, though, so after university, I went to work in corporate finance. Later, I earned a master’s degree in the same discipline.

I love jogging and yoga; they help me relax my body and my mind. I like contemporary art, so I try visit a museum in every city I go to. I used to play e–guitar and had a metal band of my own. After several records and concerts, we fell apart. Now I play at home, for myself, and plan to come back to music as a full–scale hobby one day.

Never miss another post

Receive new stories once a week directly in your inbox