Thomas is the leader of our Chemicals and Agriculture Practices in the Americas. He advises leading agriculture, chemical, and energy companies on step change performance transformations and growth strategies.
Since joining McKinsey, he has advised global leading clients in the energy, chemicals, agribusiness and oilfield service sectors. His support focuses on high-impact strategy development and performance improvement transformations, which often include helping companies boost operational excellence and improve capital and commercial productivity, organizational redesign, and capability building.
Working with leading companies across continents has given Thomas a global point of view on both challenges and opportunities; he has advised clients in Africa, Brazil, Europe, and North America.
Examples of his recent client work include the following:
- supporting a leading specialty chemical company on a global operational turnaround, putting in place new practices to drive commercial and manufacturing excellence
- developing tailored regional growth strategies for Africa and Eastern Europe as well as integrated solutions growth strategies for a global agricultural input company
- supporting the global supply chain, procurement, and IT transformation for a global leading agribusiness company
- supporting a leading oilfield equipment and services provider on pricing strategy and tender support as well as chemicals procurement strategy
- reviewing the business cases as well as supporting the capital project teams of several petrochemical companies along the value chain in North America
Published work
“Organizing for sustainability success: Where, and how, leaders can start,” McKinsey & Company, August 2021
“True packaging sustainability: Understanding the performance trade-offs,” McKinsey & Company, July 2021
“Net zero or bust: Beating the abatement cost curve for growth,” McKinsey & Company, April 2021
“The state of the chemical industry—it is getting more complex,” McKinsey & Company, November 2020
“Water: A human and business priority,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020
“Plastics recycling: Using an economic-feasibility lens to select the next moves,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020
“Accelerating plastic recovery in the United States,” McKinsey & Company, December 2019
“How plastics waste recycling could transform the chemical industry,” McKinsey & Company, December 2018
“No time to waste: What plastics recycling could offer,” McKinsey & Company, September 2018
“Chemicals 2025: Will the industry be dancing to a very different tune?,” McKinsey & Company, March 2017
Past experience
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Postdoctoral fellow
Bayer Corporation
Education
University of Technology, Aachen, Germany
PhD, chemistry
University of Cologne, Germany
MA, chemistry