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Lucy Pérez

Senior PartnerBoston

Advises pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical-product companies, and healthcare providers in addressing strategic, organizational, and operational challenges

A former cancer researcher, Lucy brings a strong technical background to her work with organizations across the life-sciences and healthcare sectors. Since joining McKinsey, she has partnered with CEOs and top teams at leading organizations across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Whether working with established pharmaceutical companies or smaller biotechnology companies to hone R&D investments and maximize portfolio valuation or advise healthcare providers on growth and innovation, Lucy takes a strategic, long-term perspective.

Lucy is an active member of the firm’s efforts regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, and coleads our global client service in ESG, supporting organizations with the development and implementation of sustainable operations and strategies for ESG and sustainability oversight. She is passionate about partnering with clients to advance health equity and also coleads our North American diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Examples of Lucy’s recent client work include the following:

  • advising a biopharmaceutical company setting clinical, regulatory, and medical strategies for a suite of treatments for infectious diseases and oncology
  • supporting a leading pharmaceutical company through digital transformation to rethink how it engages with customers, applies advanced analytics, and embeds agile ways of working
  • developing the ESG strategy for a midsize pharmaceutical company and aligning the leadership team of a midsize pharma company to create aspirations and a roadmap to engage various stakeholders
  • advising a leading academic medical center on its health-equity strategy and building capabilities to help increase the diversity of its clinical trial populations
  • developing a corporate growth strategy for a top US cancer center
  • designing an operating model for a new innovation center at a major academic medical center to boost the translation of biomedical research into clinical-care solutions
  • conducting a landscape assessment of the FemTech market and identifying opportunities for investment in women’s health for a pharmaceutical company

In addition to her client service, Lucy sponsors our Hispanic and Latino Network in North America, a platform for consultants and Hispanic and Latino leaders to connect and build communities as well as advance their professional development and build knowledge on Latino economic mobility.

Before joining McKinsey, Lucy was a research fellow at a cancer center, where she was involved in the development of novel treatments for solid tumors. She is the coinventor on multiple patents, as well as a board member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable. She also sits on the advisory board for the Aspen Institute Latinos in Society Program. Lucy’s work has been quoted extensively in outlets such as Bloomberg, Fortune, and CNBC.

Published work

Are women’s prime working years in peril?,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024

Mapping the road to prosperity and parity for Black and Latino residents across America,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024

Latinos in Hollywood: Amplifying voices, expanding horizons,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024

Accelerating diversity in clinical trials,” McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, February 2024

Courageous growth: Six strategies for continuous growth outperformance,” McKinsey & Company, October 2023

Accelerating the transition to net zero in life sciences,” McKinsey & Company, August 2023

The triple play: Growth, profit, and sustainability,” McKinsey & Company, August 2023

Closing the data gaps in women’s health,” McKinsey & Company, April 2023

The economic state of Latinos in the US: Determined to thrive,” McKinsey & Company, November 2022

How to make ESG real,” ,” McKinsey Quarterly, August 2022

Does ESG really matter—and why?,” McKinsey Quarterly, August 2022

Digital health: An opportunity to advance health equity,” McKinsey & Company, July 2022

Self-learning: The dawn of a new biomedical R&D paradigm,” McKinsey & Company, July 2022

What will it take to boost Latino economic power?,” McKinsey & Company, May 2022

Better data for better therapies: The case for building health data platforms,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022

Health equity: A framework for the epidemiology of care,” McKinsey & Company, March 2022

The dawn of the FemTech revolution,” McKinsey & Company, February 2022

Unlocking opportunities in women’s healthcare,” McKinsey & Company, February 2022

The economic state of Latinos in America: The American dream deferred, McKinsey & Company, December 2021

Integrated evidence generation: A paradigm shift in biopharma,” McKinsey & Company, November 2021

US Hispanic and Latino lives and livelihoods in the recovery from COVID-19,” McKinsey & Company, September 2020

Creating value from next-generation real-world evidence,” McKinsey & Company, July 2020

Education

Harvard University
PhD, chemistry
AB, chemistry