Li-Kai is the managing partner of McKinsey’s Malaysia office. He advises private and public sector clients on large-scale organizational and performance transformation programs. He works with executives, leaders, and boards on modernizing organizations and building successful, sustainable institutions in the face of industry or economic discontinuity.
Previously, Li-Kai led McKinsey’s education work globally. In this role, he advised school systems, vocational, and higher-education institutions on improving student learning outcomes, day-to-day experiences, and employment prospects. He has experience in the education sector in more than 30 countries across Asia, North America, the Middle East, Oceania, and Europe.
Recent examples of Li-Kai’s client work include the following:
- designing and helping implement large-scale programs to drive performance transformation, accelerated digitization, and improved productivity across a leading Asian conglomerate
- working with sovereign-wealth funds and government investment companies to maximize value and transform performance across their portfolio companies
- advising an Asian government on the reform and transformation of the school and higher education systems toward improving student and system outcomes
- developing a national five-year economic strategy, including blueprint and detailed implementation plans
- helping establish new forms of public–private partnerships to increase employability among students and graduates
- supporting a global foundation on a major portfolio-management effort
He has served clients in multiple industries—including financial services, telecommunications, retail, private equity, agriculture, and education—on issues such as strategy, corporate finance, corporate governance, and talent development.
Li-Kai serves on the board of trustees of Teach for Malaysia—a partner of the Teach For All global network. Before joining McKinsey, he worked in the investment banking sector with Barclays Capital and as a quantity surveyor with Balfour Beatty.
Published work
“Teacher survey: Learning loss is global—and significant,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021
“Reskilling China: Transforming the world’s largest workforce into lifelong learners,” McKinsey & Company, January 2021
“School-system priorities in the age of coronavirus,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020
“The leerKRACHT foundation: Continuous improvement in Dutch education,” McKinsey & Company, February 2020
“An interview with former Peruvian Minister of Education Jaime Saavedra,” McKinsey & Company, September 2019
“Education reform in Norway: Looking beyond politics to bring sustained change,” McKinsey & Company, June 2019
“Bringing major improvements to education in Colombia,” McKinsey & Company, May 2019
“Transformation 101: How universities can overcome financial headwinds to focus on their mission,” McKinsey & Company, May 2019
“Drivers of student performance: Asia insights,” McKinsey & Company, January 2018
“Partnering for outcomes: Public-private partnership for school education in Asia,” McKinsey & Company, October 2014
“The $250 billion question: Can China close the skills gap?,” McKinsey & Company, June 2013
Past experience
Barclays Capital
Manager
Balfour Beatty
Quantity surveyor and cost engineer
Education
Harvard Business School
MBA, business administration
University of Reading
MSc, risk management
University of Central England
BSc, quantity surveying