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Joseph Lai

PartnerNew York

Leads McKinsey’s asset management practice in North America, collaborating with public and private markets asset managers, wealth managers, banks, insurers, and fintechs to fuel growth and drive transformational change

Joseph heads McKinsey’s asset management practice in North America. Collaborating closely with executives, he shapes impactful strategies for leading institutions, driving financial performance, transformative growth, and organizational change. Additionally, he leads PriceMetrix and Performance Lens, McKinsey’s proprietary SaaS and data solutions which provide insights to leading global wealth and asset management firms.

Joseph guides prominent companies across the investment ecosystem, including public and private market asset managers, wealth managers, banks, insurers, and fintechs.

Examples of Josephs’ recent work include the following:

  • assisting in the restructuring of a global asset manager’s investments and product portfolio to better align with growth opportunities and reduce cost
  • helping build a digital distribution capability and integrated software tool, incorporating data, predictive analytics, and remote sales, for a leading US asset manager
  • transforming an operations and technology operating model in collaboration with a leading global asset manager, including key decisions around insourcing, onshoring, automation, and specialization
  • guiding a multiyear talent and organizational health transformation together with a leading asset manager
  • aiding in the development and execution of a 5-year growth plan for an at-scale private markets asset manager across real estate, infrastructure, and private credit
  • driving a multiyear commercial transformation across sales, marketing, product, and pricing with a global asset manager
  • guiding a transformative asset management M&A transaction from diligence through target state design and integration

Published Work

Beyond the balance sheet: North American asset management 2024,” McKinsey & Company, September 2024

Everything everywhere all at once: North American asset management 2023,” McKinsey & Company, November 2023

Advanced analytics in asset management: Beyond the buzz,” McKinsey & Company, March 2019

Education

Harvard University
MPA

The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania
MBA

Stanford University
MA, sociology
BA, international relations