A twist of fate spurs a career in sustainability

December 8, 2022I went to Wellesley College and got my degree in economics. I always thought I would join the Peace Corps after graduation. The idea of public service, helping others, and making the world a better place has always been my North Star. An unfortunate event actually put me on this career path to consulting.

I was a collegiate rower, and I cracked a rib during my sophomore year. That summer, I was receiving medical treatments, and I couldn’t go abroad. So, just two weeks before summer break, I was scrambling to find an internship. The Wellesley Center for Work and Service had one internship left in New Orleans, working for Habitat for Humanity. It was about a year after Hurricane Katrina, and the city was still in the thick of rebuilding.

I went, and the work meant so much to me I ended up taking a year off college to stay. The experience opened my eyes. I became fascinated by the roles government and business play in building local economies and developing critical infrastructure.

After graduation, I interviewed for a little bit of everything, but I loved that McKinsey was going to let me jump in, solve problems, and help people right away. I joined the firm in 2010 as a business analyst. I left after about two years to pursue roles elsewhere and go to business school, but I rejoined McKinsey almost five years ago.

During my first stint at McKinsey, I focused predominantly on car manufacturing. When I came back, I had done some work for Tesla, so naturally I fell into the energy sector, focusing on the transition to electric vehicles and the infrastructure needed to power them.

Leading the charge on vehicle electrification

Now an associate partner, my job is all about problem solving: developing a hypothesis, figuring out how to test it, and then communicating the findings in a compelling way to stakeholders. I do a mix of developing transition and product/services strategies.

Right now, I’m focusing on commercial vehicle electrification. Passenger cars are off and running, and I’m optimistic about the outlook. I think commercial vehicles will be the next push, and we need to figure out how to electrify school buses, garbage trucks, delivery trucks, and more. We have demand for electrifying fleets, but the supply and charging infrastructure just isn’t there yet. So, as a firm, we’re working with manufacturers, suppliers, and municipalities to come up with creative solutions to those problems.

I also work with utility companies to help them plan to charge all these electric vehicles, which require more electrons at different times and places, many of which are rural. Depending on where you live, the grid can be 50 to 100 years old, and we’re helping these companies update their operating models to support the changing demands.

Lastly, we’re focusing on what the winning business models of the future will look like. The value pools are shifting, as more and more people want to stop paying so much at the pump, and there will be a major displacement of capital, from gas and oil to utility. The transition creates all these fascinating changes and potential business models to think about.

What it means to me to do this work at McKinsey

Companies hire McKinsey because we solve the truly hard problems. If we’re brought in, it’s usually because there is high uncertainty and risk. I get so much energy (pun intended) from digging in and solving these complex issues.

We sit at the table with leaders of massive institutions—the movers and shakers in oil and gas, automotive, utilities, and more—and can directly influence change at the highest level possible. For me, it’s the ultimate privilege to sit side-by-side with storied industry players and promising start-ups to help them set their agenda. At McKinsey, we can help us build a better, more sustainable future.

More about me

Beyond my work, I am committed to sponsoring women and people of diverse profiles in operations at McKinsey. I have the distinct pleasure of leading the first all-female operations team in our energy practice. It’s so rewarding and fun to support these incredibly and insanely talented women and help them develop their skills, so they can bring their whole selves to work.

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