One of the most important skills we learn here is the ability to solve unknown problems.

McKinsey Start-Ups

I came to McKinsey to learn. I wanted to start my own company one day, and I realized that management consulting was the ideal way to learn how to run a business, how to plan a long-term strategy, and how to lead and inspire people around me. Three years later, I’m still here, because so much of my work requires me to think like an entrepreneur. For instance, three of my colleagues and I got the opportunity to build our own start-up within McKinsey last year. We realized that many of the clients we had worked with could benefit from a more accessible approach to data-driven solutions. So, we came up with an idea for an analytics-based software that could help product planners design their product portfolio in a new way. We pitched the idea to McKinsey New Ventures—our annual pitch competition where McKinsey consultants can present ideas for new solutions—and got the funding, resources, and expertise knowledge required to get the project started.

What I really enjoy about this entrepreneurial approach is that you get to experience working in many different roles and functions. For instance, throughout this project I have filled the shoes of strategist, operations overseer, product owner, and analytics lead.

Best Of Both Worlds

I am fascinated by technology, analytics, and products. Those are also the areas where I am able to contribute the most, and I often find myself as the link between the business world and the technical world.

With a technical background, you will experience solving problems in areas that are completely new to you, but one of the most important skills we learn here is our ability to solve unknown problems. In a way, you will use an engineer’s approach to management challenges by first breaking down the problem into tangible parts, figuring out which part is the most important to solve first and how, and then taking it step by step from there.

Education

Technical University of Denmark
MSc, physics, nanotechnology