This is a profile image of James Manyika

James Manyika

Chairman Emeritus, McKinsey Global Institute, and Senior Partner, EmeritusBay Area

James Manyika

Chairman Emeritus, McKinsey Global Institute, and Senior Partner, EmeritusBay Area

Previously led research on global economic and technology trends and served many of the world's leading high tech companies on growth, innovation, and strategy

As of January 2022, James Manyika is a senior partner emeritus at McKinsey & Company, and chairman and director emeritus of McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). He was previously a member of McKinsey’s board, known as the Shareholders Council. He is currently Senior Vice President of Technology and Society at Google, a newly-created position reporting directly to the CEO of Alphabet.

Based in Silicon Valley for more than 20 years, James has advised the chief executives and founders of many of the world’s leading tech companies on strategy and growth, product, and business innovation. He has also advised other chief executives outside the tech sector on issues related to innovation, the digital economy, and other global trends. In addition to his leadership of MGI, James has led research on technology’s impact on business and the economy, the future of work, productivity and competitiveness, and corporations in the 21st century. James published a book on AI and robotics earlier in his career, more recently published No Ordinary Disruption on global economic trends, and continues to publish numerous articles and reports.

James was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as vice chair of the Global Development Council at the White House and by two US Commerce Secretaries to the Digital Economy Board and to the National Innovation Board as part of the Competes Act. He serves on the board of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and is a member of the Trilateral Commission. He has served on several national and international taskforces, most recently cochairing CFR’s taskforce on innovation and national security, and appointed by the governor to cochair the state of California’s future of work commission.

He is involved in research institutes including serving on the board of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and advisory boards at Oxford, MIT, LSE, and Stanford, including as a member of the steering committee for the 100-year study of AI, and at Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. He has been appointed a visiting professor at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, and a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s committee on responsible computing. 

A Rhodes Scholar, James received a DPhil, MS, and MA from Oxford in AI and robotics, mathematics, and computer science, and a BS first class in electrical engineering from the University of Zimbabwe. He has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a distinguished fellow of Stanford’s AI Institute, a visiting fellow of All Souls, Oxford, a lifetime fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a research fellow of DeepMind.

James is on the boards of the Hewlett, MacArthur, and Markle philanthropic foundations and a trustee of the Aspen Institute. He was a nonresident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution in Economic Studies, a visiting scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Labs, and a faculty exchange fellow at MIT. At Oxford, he was a member of the Programming Research Group and the Robotics Research Lab, and was awarded a research fellowship and elected a fellow of Balliol College.

 

PUBLICATIONS

Artificial intelligence and digitization

Forward Thinking on artificial intelligence with Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2021

The Biological Revolution: Innovations transforming economies, societies, and our lives,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2020

What do we do about the biases in AI?,” Harvard Business Review, October 2019

The coming of AI Spring,” Project Syndicate, October 2019

Your AI efforts won't succeed unless they benefit employees,” Harvard Business Review, July 2019

Tackling bias in artificial intelligence (and in humans),” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2019

Twenty-five years of digitization: Ten insights into how to play it right,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2019

Digital identification: A key to inclusive growth,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2019

Notes from the AI frontier: Tackling Europe’s gap in digital and AI,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2019 

Book chapter in “Architects of Intelligence: The truth about AI from the people building it,” by Martin Ford, November 2018

Notes from the AI frontier: Applying artificial intelligence for social good,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2018

Automation and altruism,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, November 2018

The promise and challenge of the age of artificial intelligence,” Briefing note prepared for the Second Annual Tallinn Digital Summit, McKinsey Global Institute, October 2018

Notes from the frontier: Modeling the impact of AI on the world economy,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2018

Notes from the AI frontier: Insights from hundreds of use cases,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2018

What AI can and can't do (yet) for your business,” McKinsey Quarterly, January 2018

Digitization, AI, and the future of work: Imperatives for Europe,” prepared for the EU Heads of State, Tallinn Digital Summit, McKinsey Global Institute, October 2017

What's now and next in analytics, AI, and automation,” Briefing note, McKinsey Global Institute, May 2017 

The future of work and labor markets

Financial data unbound: The value of open data for individuals and institutions,” McKinsey & Company, June 2021

The economic state of Black America: What is and what could be, McKinsey Global Institute, June 2021

The consumer demand recovery and lasting effects of COVID-19,” McKinsey Global Institute, March 2021

Race in the workplace: The Black experience in the US private sector,” McKinsey & Company, February 2021

The future of work after COVID-19,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2021

COVID-19 has revived the social contract in advanced economies - for now. What will stick once the crisis abates?,” McKinsey Global Institute, December 2020

What's next for remote work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2020

An experiment to inform universal basic income,” McKinsey & Company, September 2020

COVID-19 and jobs: Monitoring the US impact on people and places,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020

Lives and livelihoods: Assessing the near-term impact of COVID-19 on US workers,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020

How the economy differs for workers, consumers, and savers,” Harvard Business Review, February 2020

The future of work in America: People and places, today and tomorrow,” McKinsey Global Institute, July 2019

The future of women at work: Transitions in the age of automation,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2019

A new look at the declining labor share of income in the United States,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2019 

Automation and the future of work,” Milken Institute Review, October 2018

AI, automation, and the future of work: Ten things to solve for,” Briefing note prepared for President of France’s Tech for Good Summit, June 2018

The false choice between automation and jobs,” co-authored with Nobel Laureate Michael Spence, Harvard Business Review, February 2018

Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2017

Technology, jobs, and the future of work,” Briefing note prepared for the Fortune + Time Global Forum in Vatican City, updated May 2017

What the rise of Uber says about the gig economy,” Fortune, February 2017

A future that works: Automation, employment, and productivity,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2017

Poorer than their parents? Flat or falling incomes in advanced economies,” McKinsey Global Institute, July 2016

Where machines could replace humans-and where they can't (yet),” McKinsey Quarterly, July 2016 

The power of parity: Advancing women's equality in the United States,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2016

The power of parity: How advancing women's equality can add $12 trillion to global growth,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2015

Globalization and global trends

Risk, resilience, and rebalancing in global value chains,” McKinsey Global Institute, August 2020

It's time to build 21st century companies: Learning to thrive in a radically different world,” Milken Institute review, May 2020

The new social contract in the 21st century,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2020

China and the world: Inside the dynamics of a changing relationship,” McKinsey Global Institute, July 2019

The global economy's next winners,” Foreign Affairs, June 2019

Anger over tariffs obscures a shift in patterns of global trade,” Financial Times, February 2019

The next era of globalization will be shaped by customers, technology, and value chains,” Harvard Business Review, February 2019

Globalization in transition: The future of trade and value chains,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2019

Defending digital globalization,” Foreign Affairs, April 2017

We can't undo globalization, but we can improve it,” Harvard Business Review, January 2017

Digital globalization: The new era of global flows,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2016

Book: “No ordinary disruption: The four global forces breaking all the trends,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2015

Global flows in a digital age: How trade, finance, people, and data connect the world economy,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2014

Productivity, competitiveness, and growth

A sustainable, inclusive, and growing future for the United States,” McKinsey & Company, November 2021

A better boom: How to capture the pandemic's productivity potential,” Foreign Affairs, June 2021

A new look at how corporations impact the economy and households,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2021

Building a more competitive US manufacturing sector,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2021

Will productivity and growth return after the COVID-19 crisis?,” McKinsey Global Institute, March 2021

Rethinking the future of American capitalism,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2020

The questions companies should ask themselves to prepare for a new era of business,” Fortune, November 2019

What every CEO needs to know about ‘superstar’ companies,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2019

Inequality: A persisting challenge and its implications,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2019

What's driving superstar companies, industries, and cities,” Harvard Business Review, October 2018

Superstars: The dynamics of firms, sectors, and cities leading the global economy,” McKinsey Global Institute, October 2018

The best performing emerging economies emphasize competition,” Harvard Business Review, September 2018

Outperformers: High-growth emerging economies and the companies that propel them,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2018

Solving the productivity puzzle,” co-authored with Nobel Laureate Myron Scholes, Frank E. Buck Professor of Finance, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Project Syndicate, May 2018

The US economy is suffering from low demand,” Harvard Business Review, February 2018

Solving the productivity puzzle: The role of demand and the promise of digitization,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2018

Making it in America: Revitalizing US manufacturing,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2017

The case against corporate short-termism,” Milken Institute Review, September 2017

The productivity puzzle: A closer look at the United States,” McKinsey Global Institute, March 2017

Finally, evidence that managing for the long term pays off,” Harvard Business Review , February 2016

Putting profits in perspective,” co-authored with Laura Tyson, Professor, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Project Syndicate, May 2016

The productivity challenge of an aging global workforce,” Harvard Business Review, January 2015 

Playing to win: The new global competition for corporate profits,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2015

Global growth: Can productivity save the day in an aging world?,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2015

Digital era brings hyperscale challenges,” Financial Times, August 2014 

Interviews

The 21st-century corporation: A conversation with Brian Chesky of Airbnb,” McKinsey & Company, July 2021

Council on Foreign Relations Renewing America Series: Reskilling and the Future of Work Post-Pandemic,” YouTube, April 2021

Nextdoor’s CEO on supporting communities through COVID-19,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2021

Past, Present, Future - James Manyika & James Suzman at CNBC @Work Summit,” CNBC, October 2020

AI in healthcare: Microsoft’s Kevin Scott on how tech can treat a pandemic,” McKinsey & Company, July 2020

How the pandemic has accelerated the future of work,” Homeroom with Sal Kahn, June 2020

Podcast conversation with Mellody Hobson on mentorship, diversity, and feedback,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2020

Chairman of McKinsey Global Institute on racial wealth gap,” CNBC Closing Bell, June 2020

Towards a 21st Century Social contract,” Podcast conversation with Rob Johnson, economist at The Institute for New Economic Thinking, May 2020

What could go wrong with AI - and how to make it right,” Interview with Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley, McKinsey & Company, February, 2020

The world's gone from flat, to fast, to deep,” discussion with Tom Friedman, New York Times foreign affairs columnist, three-time Pulitzer winner, and author of Thank You for Being Late, on the impact of connectivity, globalization, digitization, and AI on work, skills, incomes, and prosperity, McKinsey Global Institute, March 2019

James Manyika: The CEO’s Consigliere,” Podcast conversation with Andrew McAfee, principal research scientist at MIT, November 2018

How artificial intelligence can be applied to the real world,” Marketplace, May 2018

Productivity is poised to rise finally,” Marketplace, February 2018

We need to invest in human capital, Manyika says,” Bloomberg Surveillance, February 2018

Who’s in control of the gig economy,” interview with Matthew Taylor, McKinsey & Company, October 2017

The coming robot takeover,” Marketplace, December 2017 

How automation will affect you,” BBC Radio Future Now, May 2017

Robot proof jobs,” Marketplace, April 2017

The independent workforce is growing and it's growing fast,” Nightly Business Report, October 2016

As automation advances, are jobs in danger?,” Science Friday, August 2016

Public appearances

The global economy after COVID-19,” podcast conversation with Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor, Allianz and Gillian Tett, Chair of Editorial Board and Editor-at-Large, US, Financial Times, World Affairs Council, July 2020

Building a company for the 21st century,” Fortune Global Forum, November, 2019

The future of work after COVID-19,” Council on Foreign Relations, May, 2019

Moderator, panel discussion on artificial intelligence,” Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Symposium, April, 2019

Press conference The value of digital identity for the global economy society,” World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, April, 2019

Tallinn Digital Summit, Plenary session,” The promise and challenge of the age of AI, October 2018

Has globalization undermined America’s working class?,” Intelligence Squared Debates, with Jared Bernstein, Jason Furman, and Thea Lee, July 2018

Robotics, AI, and the future of work, SIEPR Economic Summit,” panel and discussion with Reid Hoffman, Susan Athey, and Richard Waters, March 2018

The economic reach of AI,” New York Times New Work Summit, February 2018

New Economy Forum: Future of work,” World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, panel and discussion with Christine Lagarde, October 2017

How can governments and innovators effectively partner in solving pressing global challenges,” presentation and panel discussion at UN High-level event on SDG innovation and technology with H.E. Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia; H.E. Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark; Mitchell Baker, Executive Chairwoman Mozilla (Firefox); Aliko Dangote, Founder and Chair of Dangote Group; Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chair of Bharti Enterprises; Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia and WikiTribune, United Nations General Assembly, September 2017

The future of economy and society,” presentation at EU Heads of State Tallinn Digital Summit Keynote, September 2017 

The power of gender parity,” Google re:Work, YouTube, April 2016

Global trends and implications for sustainable development,” presentation at the United Nations” McKinsey & Company, April 2015

Past experience

Oxford University
Engineering faculty

Balliol College, Oxford University
Research fellow

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Visiting scientist

MIT
Faculty exchange fellow

Education

Oxford University
DPhil, electrical engineering
MSc, mathematics
MA, computer science

University of Zimbabwe
BSc, electrical engineering (first class)