Ulf Schrader

About Ulf

Ulf is a leading expert in the biopharmaceuticals, medtech, and healthcare industries. He helps companies improve quality, service, and costs in their production networks, supply chains, and purchasing, and leads McKinsey's work on manufacturing and supply chain.

Ulf helped lead the first detailed benchmarking in the pharmaceutical industry for operations costs and productivity—POBOS—which supports over 100 companies and 1000 plants globally in providing benchmarking solutions and services.

Ulf also advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing solutions aimed at helping companies adapt to Industry 4.0 technologies, including overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), yield optimization, the use of digital twins to optimize plant and lab scheduling, smart digitization, and shop floor operations. Ulf is a recognized leader in Industry 4.0 technologies for pharma manufacturing. To date, this role has included establishing three digital lighthouses on pharma manufacturing included in the World Economic Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network.

Ulf joined McKinsey in 1999 and has led the firm’s Hamburg office since 2016. He earned a degree in industrial engineering with a focus on applied chemistry from the Technical University of Berlin as well as a Master’s degree in modern history from the same institution. In addition, he has a Master’s degree in business administration from emlyon business school.