Virginia Simmons

About Virginia

Virginia leads McKinsey’s offices in the Midwest United States, which include the Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh locations. Having joined our London office in 1997 and moving to Chicago in 2005, she brings nearly 20 years’ experience serving a broad variety of clients on topics ranging from strategy to corporate finance to marketing and sales. Her particular focus today is on helping retailers and financial services companies drive growth and transform operations.

Examples of Virginia's client work include supporting a major retailer through a multiyear transformation program to turn around its performance. This included a complete overhaul of the company's strategy, pricing, and merchandising as well as harnessing new technology to modernize operations. She has also helped several clients rethink their business models and reconfigure their organizations in response to technology-driven shifts in the retail landscape.

Although British by origin, Virginia and her family are now passionate Chicagoans. She serves on the boards of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Prior to joining McKinsey, Virginia worked with PepsiCo as a brand manager and Shell International Petroleum Company in Canada and the United Kingdom as a marketing and retail operations manager.