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Benedikt Zeumer

A leading global expert on base metals, advises and supports businesses across the value chain of the steel, aluminum, and copper industries

Benedikt is an expert principal and senior expert in the Metals and Mining Practice, with a focus on steel, aluminum, and other base metals. He has been a pioneer in building the firm’s proprietary metals-and-mining expertise, including building the McKinsey Metals Research and Information group, which synthesizes and analyzes industrial knowledge from around the world. As a part of McKinsey’s proprietary knowledge-development efforts, Benedikt has conducted extensive macroeconomic analysis on the aluminum industry as well as developing the firm’s operational benchmarks.

Benedikt’s recent work includes projects covering the entire value chain of the aluminum, steel, and copper industries. In steel, he has supported clients in production and processing as well as distribution. In aluminum, he has guided initiatives on topics from bauxite mining to the manufacturing of finished products, such as rolled products and castings, and recently led an initiative to optimize refineries and smelters. Further, he has worked extensively in the copper industry on smelting and remelting, as well as the optimization of recycling efforts—from collection to processing.

He is a frequent speaker at external events and is the editor-in-charge of McKinsey on Metals and Mining. Before joining McKinsey, Benedikt managed a number of R&D activities at a research center sponsored by the steel industry.

Published work

The resilience of steel: Navigating the crossroads,” McKinsey & Company, April 2023

Tackling the challenge of decarbonizing steelmaking,” McKinsey & Company, May 2021

The future of the European steel industry,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021

Decarbonization challenge for steel,” McKinsey & Company, June 2020

How benchmarking can improve cost competitiveness in steel,” McKinsey & Company, August 2017

How 3-D printing will transform the metals industry,” McKinsey & Company, August 2017

Education

Rhine-Westphalian University of Technology
PhD and BS, metallurgy and materials science