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Ben Sheppard

PartnerLondon

Ben leads McKinsey Design in EMEA and the firm's global research on design. He advises clients on creating bold new products and services.

Ben is a partner in our London office, where he leads McKinsey's global research on design, as well as leading 200+ designers in McKinsey Design in Europe.

He collaborates with clients to grow new brands and product portfolios from inception to go-to-market ready, leveraging the firm’s talent across research, design, engineering, manufacturing, project management, and sales. His work includes leading innovation, design, and development on everything from jet engines and cars to medical devices and coffee machines. A recent example of Ben’s work includes assisting a medical device start-up with the development and design of new devices, including the creation of a new robotics factory and the digital tools to improve how clinicians operate.

He has helped grow McKinsey’s design and development capabilities into a global community of more than 400 designers, more than 600 engineers, and several thousand design and development consultants, and includes acquisitions of LUNAR and Veryday.

In addition to his client work, Ben cofounded and hosts a quarterly forum for senior design leaders to discuss topics around sustainable and inclusive growth. He also cofounded and chairs Design for Good, a not-for profit alliance aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals that aims to deliver measurable impact on society’s biggest challenges through collaborative design and innovation efforts.

Published work

Skinny design: Smaller is better,” McKinsey & Company, March 2023

Designing out of difficult times,” McKinsey & Company, December 2022

Redesigning the design department,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022

Designers are critical to business performance, but there’s a big catch”, Fast Company, April 2022

Founding members of Design for Good Alliance”, Sustainable Brands, April 2022

Design for Good alliance”, Design for Good, April 2022

Redesigning the design department,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022

Made to measure: Getting design leadership metrics right,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021

The Black Hole of Luxury Watch Repair,” The New York Times, April 2020

Are you asking enough from your design leaders?,” McKinsey & Company, February 2020

The luxury of time—Digitally enhanced experiences in an analog industry,” McKinsey & Company, April 2019

How do you quantify the magic of design?,” McKinsey & Company, November 2018 

The business value of design,” McKinsey Quarterly, October 2018

Designing a healthy future for medical devices,” McKinsey & Company, July 2018

The changing face of medical-device design,” McKinsey & Company, February 2018

More than a feeling: Ten design practices to deliver business value,” McKinsey & Company, December 2017

Factory of the Future: exploiting advanced manufacturing technologies,” McKinsey & Company, October 2014

Videos

The Business Value of Design,” Dezeen, October 2018

McKinsey Design Index,” Vimeo, October 2018

Education

Institute of Engineering and Technology
FIET, C.Eng

Cambridge University
MEng