Building Great CEOs

Explore McKinsey’s CEO counseling offerings, as well as our latest insights and learnings for current and future CEOs to unlock heightened performance.

The Role of the CEO

""
Article

Sending it forward: Successfully transitioning out of the CEO role

-
Great CEOs know that the transition to their successor will define their legacy and cement the strength of what they’ve built. Here’s how they do it right.
""
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Staying ahead: How the best CEOs continually improve performance
-
After the heady first years in the job, CEOs must sustain momentum and high performance. Here are four ways to avoid complacency...
""
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Stepping up: Becoming a high-potential CEO candidate
-
The road to becoming CEO is a difficult ascent for even the most seasoned leaders. Here are four keys to making the journey a...
""
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Starting strong: Making your CEO transition a catalyst for renewal
-
The best CEOs use the first six to 12 months of their tenure as a moment of great personal transition and institutional renewal....

How McKinsey Works With CEOs

CEO Excellence
CEO Excellence
The CEO role is like no other and is the only truly peerless role in a company.
CEO Excellence
CEO Excellence Forum
This 1.5 day learning forum provides CEOs transitioning into the role an opportunity to access McKinsey’s best insights,...
Board Services
Board Services
We help clients improve the effectiveness of the board of directors through counseling, capability building, and developing new...
CEO Learning
What if the world’s highest-performing CEOs held a master class to share the skills and practices that have driven their...

How CEOs Learn

Moving illustration of wavy blue lines that was produced using computer code
Article

What every CEO should know about generative AI

-
Generative AI is evolving at record speed while CEOs are still learning the technology’s business value and risks. Here, we offer some of the generative AI essentials.
Three keys to faster, better decisions
Blog page - Featured Insights
The McKinsey guide to excelling as a CEO
The CEO role is arguably more challenging than it’s ever been. Become the most effective leader you can be with expert...
""
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Rising CEOs: Lessons from the McKinsey Leadership Forum
-
Preparing for the CEO role can be a challenge and a reward. These eight lessons drawn from more than 300 McKinsey Leadership...
Portrait of mature businessman seated at workstation in design studio
Podcast
Six CEO priorities for 2023
-
Leaders around the world are confronting a welter of uncertainties. Here’s how to home in on what matters—and begin...
Wintery aerial view of a red ice-breaker ship pushing through cracked sea ice
Article
Actions the best CEOs are taking in 2023
-
Corporate leaders are addressing the risks while finding the opportunities in digital disruption, the economy, and geopolitical...
""
Article
How business operations can respond to price increases: A CEO guide
-
Companies need better tools to tackle rising prices. CEOs can look for them across their business operations.
Two engineers are discussing parts
Commentary
The labor market is upside down. Here’s what CEOs can do about it
-
Business leaders can play a key role in easing labor market pressure and helping to make sustainable and inclusive growth a reality....
" "
Article
The CEO agenda in 2022: Harnessing the potential of growth jolts
-
Despite uncertainties, the US economy is robust. The year ahead could jolt further growth.

Books for CEOs

Perspectives from CEO Excellence

CEO Excellence book cover - Best Seller list on New York Times, Wall Street journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly
Book - Featured Insights
CEO Excellence
What if the world’s highest-performing CEOs held a master class to share the skills and practices that have driven their success...
""
Podcast
Leadership lessons from the world’s best CEOs
-
The authors of the new book CEO Excellence, who interviewed dozens of the top-performing chief executives, share their...
McKinsey senior partners Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra
Interview
What separates the best CEOs from the rest?
-
Three McKinsey senior partners looked across more than 20 years’ worth of data on 7,800 CEOs from 3,500 public companies...
David Gergen
Interview
It’s time to pass the baton
-
To solve decades-old issues, former presidential adviser David Gergen says we need fresh leadership—so he wrote a playbook...
Author Talks: David Fubini on hidden truths for CEOs
Interview
David Fubini on hidden truths for CEOs
-
In his new book, David Fubini provides a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be a superior leader.
Author Talks: Hubert Joly on unleashing human magic
Interview
Hubert Joly on unleashing human magic
-
The former chairman and CEO of Best Buy describes the leadership principles required to thrive in capitalism’s next era....

Leading Off

Start each Monday ready to take on the leadership challenges of the coming week. Revealing research, inspiring interviews, and insightful quotations to empower you and those you lead. Subscribe to this weekly newsletter to get it all.

CEO Interviews

Ralph Mupita headshot
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita: Bridging Africa’s connectivity gap
-
The head of the continent’s largest mobile operator talks about technology’s role in fostering sustainable growth and how his company’s delayering strategy can help accelerate that transformation.
Ken Frazier
Voices of CEO excellence: Merck’s Ken Frazier
-
The former CEO and executive chairman of the pharmaceutical company offers candid reflections on how crises tested his commitment to values—both Merck’s and his own.
A picture of Empower CEO Ed Murphy
Making programmatic M&A work: An interview with Empower CEO Ed Murphy
-
In less than a decade, Empower has grown into the second-largest US retirement services company. Ed Murphy, the company’s leader since day one, offers an experienced perspective on M&A success.
Caroline Feeney
Opening doors for women leaders: An interview with Caroline Feeney
-
As executive vice president and CEO of US businesses at Prudential, Caroline Feeney has found success by staying true to herself and helping others to climb the ladder.
Frédéric Oudéa
A culture of conviction: An interview on organizational transformation with the former CEO of Société Générale
-
Frédéric Oudéa reflects on the importance of culture to leadership and decision making as he hands off Société Générale to his successor.
Girish Mathrubootham
Leading from the heart: How Freshworks’ CEO built a global tech unicorn
-
Girish Mathrubootham, CEO of the India-born, US-headquartered software-as-a-service start-up believes that this is the decade for India as a product nation.
Carlos Migoya
‘A CEO cannot micromanage’: An interview with Jackson Health CEO Carlos Migoya
-
Times of crisis call for communication, humbleness, and flexibility.
Leapfrogging a generation: Talking with GB Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave
Leapfrogging a generation: Talking with GB Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave
-
The cofounder of the Lagos-based fintech shares his perspectives on the nuanced dynamics of payments competition and innovation in Africa.
Sarah Friar image
What resilience means to Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar
-
For Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar, resilience requires diverse perspectives, local solutions, playbooks to help anticipate the unexpected, and a regard for unforeseen consequences.
Indra Nooyi
Author Talks: Indra Nooyi on leadership, life, and crafting a better future
-
The trailblazing former CEO of PepsiCo discusses the events that shaped her life and offers a blueprint for work–family conundrums.
Moderna’s path to vaccine innovation: A talk with CEO Stéphane Bancel
Moderna’s path to vaccine innovation: A talk with CEO Stéphane Bancel
-
Moderna’s delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine comes on the heels of revolutionary science that may accelerate innovation across the industry well into the future.
A digital-business builder: An interview with the CEO of Allianz Direct
A digital-business builder: An interview with the CEO of Allianz Direct
-
What does it take to build scalable new businesses inside of an older, more established company? Bart Schlatmann is building one now.
Taking stock: Catching up with Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman
Taking stock: Catching up with Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman
-
How has the global market exchange remained relevant to its stakeholders after 50 years? By embracing changes in technology, society, and the economy and by meeting customers’ needs with innovation.
The committed innovator: An interview with Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo
The Committed Innovator: An interview with Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo
-
When a marketing executive discovered an unexpected market opportunity, she disrupted the company’s original business—and became CEO in the process.
Mark Thompson
Building a digital New York Times: CEO Mark Thompson
-
Thompson looks back on an eight-year tenure that has transformed a 170-year-old news brand into a global, digital-subscription-first powerhouse—and at what lies ahead for its new leadership.

McKinsey Classics for Future CEOs

Functional-leaders-become-CEO_1536x1536_200_Standard
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
How functional leaders become CEOs
-
Limited operational experience is not necessarily a barrier to the top job. Here’s what CFOs and others must do to jump...
CEO-Exceptional_Thumbnail_1536x1536_200_Standard
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
What makes a CEO ‘exceptional’?
-
We assessed the early moves of CEOs with outstanding track records; some valuable lessons for leadership transitions emerged.
image
Blog Post
Lessons for new CEOs: Go big, go fast, or go home
-
My colleagues Kurt Strovink, Thomas Meakin, and I analyzed the major moves over 600 CEOs took during their first two years in...

Related Insights

McKinsey Books
McKinsey on Books
Explore this month’s best-selling business books prepared exclusively for McKinsey Publishing by Circana and a collection of books by McKinsey authors on the management issues that matter, from leadership and talent to digital transformation, corporate finance, and more.

McKinsey Academy

Connected Leaders Academy
Connected Leaders Academy
Advance racial equity by investing in future leaders
Product Academy
Product Academy
Product Academy offers real and actionable content from leading-edge product practitioners for anyone interested in learning...