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Ryan McCullough

PartnerDenver

Leads ACRE—McKinsey’s agriculture and environmental advanced analytics center—and is a thought leader in best practices for use of analytics in crop yield forecasting, climate risk, geospatial analytics, and smallholder farmer solutions

Ryan has extensively served companies across food and agriculture, with a focus on digital and advanced analytics, agricultural tech investing, food ingredient procurement, and international development. He is also the global leader of ACRE—our agricultural advanced analytics center—with a focus on bringing new analytical solutions to companies across the food and agriculture chain.

Examples of Ryan’s recent work include the following:

  • building an analytics tool to modernize an East African government’s food security management system
  • forecasting crop yields and prices across India using geospatial analysis for a grain buyer
  • supporting a global industrial company to evaluate the climate risk across its physical footprint
  • leading a vertical integration strategy for a vegetable processing and farming operation in the United States
  • leading multiple private equity diligence efforts to evaluate potential orchard or plantation investments across the United States and Europe
  • developing the five-year agriculture strategy for a Central American national government, including export growth of fruit and vegetable products

Prior to joining McKinsey, Ryan worked for ten years in restaurant and food hospitality management, real estate, and international development in West Africa.

Published work

How digital tools can help transform African agri-food systems,” McKinsey & Company, January 2021

Amid volatile commodity prices, beware of cognitive bias,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020

How will African farmers adjust to changing patterns of precipitation?” McKinsey & Company, May 2020

Alternative proteins: The race for market share is on,” McKinsey & Company, August 2019

A hard row to hoe—what’s in store for agricultural-input suppliers this year?” McKinsey & Company, April 2019

Past experience

Village Green Companies
Property manager

US Peace Corps, Mali
Small-enterprise development advisor

Education

Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University
MBA, strategic planning

Ohio University
BS, journalism