McKinsey on Lives & Legacies

Monthly obituaries from business and society, highlighting the lasting legacies of executives and leaders from around the globe.
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Latest volume

Illustration of a sailboat carrying a tall communications tower across calm water beneath a large white sun. Concentric signal rings radiate across the blue sky from behind the tower, symbolizing the spread of communication and global connectivity, while a person stands at the helm steering the boat toward the horizon.
Volume 4 | 2026

An architect of modern media, a literary champion, and a retail revolutionary

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Our latest obituaries also include the first American to scale Mount Everest, a frugal Fed chair, and a fashion cofounder tailor-made for her visionary role.

Past volumes

Hand holding a globe with orbiting satellites with a system of complex, iterative calculations combining physics, satellite data, and numerical modeling in the background
Volume 3 | 2026
A hidden figure behind GPS, a cycling champion, and a quiet trucking giant
A stylized overhead illustration of a pianist playing a grand piano whose body transforms into a modern city skyline filled with billboards and digital advertisements
Volume 2 | 2026
A maestro of management, a pension fund strategist, and a true game changer
A leader rebuilding solid bridges over chaos, echoing Louis Gerstner’s legacy of guiding IBM through uncertainty with vision, discipline, and bold transformation.
Volume 1 | 2026
A turnaround CEO, a bond market virtuoso, and a champion of human visibility
A solitary figure ascends a set of steps toward a futuristic cityscape filled with abstract structures and symbols
Volume 9 | 2025
An inspiring CEO, a spirited storyteller, and a marketplace maven
A semi-truck is shown driving on a highway with symbols on its flatbed that represent the life and legacy of Lucas oil founder, Forrest Lucas. A car, a bottle of synthetic oil, and a large American football are set against a scenic backdrop of mountains and a blue sky with clouds.
Volume 8 | 2025
A long-haul visionary, a red-carpet regular, and a cinematic idealist
A drawing featuring three individuals gazing upwards at a compass being held by a hand, set against a background of towering buildings. Rays resembling shooting stars emanate from the compass.
Volume 7 | 2025
McKinsey’s India office founder, a philanthropic billionaire cheese maker, and a champion of Afghan girls
An illustration dominated by bold blue hues, with a prominent hand adding a single red Lego brick to complete a section of a bridge. Figures in silhouette can be seen on one end of the unfinished bridge, eagerly anticipating its finalization.
Volume 6 | 2025
A bridge-building mentor, a Forbes ‘most-admired CEO,’ and a glass-ceiling-breaking economist
Volume 5 | 2025
A clothier turned philanthropist, the dad behind a ‘leap’ in learning, and a ‘key’ curator of African art
A stylized depiction of a man's suit, with the tie serving as a window into a tropical Miami cityscape featuring a small shop with men's wear mannequins in its window.
Volume 4 | 2025
A self-made clothing honcho, a trailblazing female exec, and an enterprising NBA player
The image shows a brain-shaped map with two taxi routes, suggesting a journey within the brain's neural pathways. A female researcher in a white lab coat is observing this journey.
Volume 3 | 2025
A cutting-edge brain researcher, an intrepid investor, and a whimsical ad exec
An illustration of a red SUV with a man at the steering wheel, carrying a globe on its roof, rests in a large hand set against a blue background
Volume 2 | 2025
An automotive tycoon, a prescient media pioneer, and a heart implant innovator
A business executive who helped steer Citigroup and Time Warner through storms leaves behind a legacy
Volume 1 | 2025
A premier crisis management expert, a retail and media giant, and a DIY powerhouse
A visionary music producer, reflects on a career that reshaped the soundscape of a generation.
Volume 9 | 2024
A music legend, a pioneering investment strategist, and a Nobel Prize–winning physicist
An isometric illustration of books creates a little world for people to relax and read.
Volume 8 | 2024
A bookselling titan, a computer pioneer, and a pathbreaking neurosurgeon
A business man peers out of a window while enjoying a cup of tea. Within the cityscape are cars, a tractor, and a university building.
Volume 7 | 2024
A corporate visionary, a retail CEO, and a fashion designer
A woman stands in front of her home in reflection. A tree made up of network nodes bursts through the roof of her garage.
Volume 6 | 2024
A tech titan, a literacy leader, and a cookie magnate
An illustration of a father and son crossing the street of a whimsical depiction of Detroit, Michigan. All seen through the perspective of the side mirror of a car.
Volume 5 | 2024
An entrepreneurial philanthropist, a biotech pioneer, and an acclaimed wine producer
A woman holding shopping bags travels up the escalator of a department store. Behind her are photos representing the life of the store's owner.
Volume 4 | 2024
A retail dynasty chief, a pioneer in statins, and a renowned crossword editor
An illustration of a woman standing on a rooftop looking up at billboard advertisements on neighboring rooftops
Volume 3 | 2024
The first female CEO of an NYSE-listed company and two lives that bookended an era
In the illustration, a person is looking through a window at a cityscape. The window is in the shape of a human head, which represents the mind.
Volume 2 | 2024
Two Nobel winners and a film producer who battled sexism
An illustration of a hand reaching out to help people cross a chasm. The hand represents mentorship.
Volume 1 | 2024
Lifelong mentor and a pink-clad maven of Italian shipping

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge James R. Hagerty for his contributions to the writing and development of McKinsey on Lives & Legacies.

Special thanks to McKinsey Global Publishing colleagues Adam Volk, Amanda Soto, CherryAnn Goodridge, Dan Spector, Dana Sand, Diane Rice, Eleni Kostopoulos, Emily Adeyanju, Janet Michaud, Martine Louis, Mike Borruso, Nicole Adams, Philip Kim, Sara Thuerk, Stephanie D’Arc Taylor, Stephen Landau, Victor Cuevas, and Vanessa Burke.