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Celia Huber

Senior PartnerBay Area

Leads our North American board services sector and advises organizations on strategies to help thrive within the context of global industry change and the evolving role of the board

Over the course of more than 30 years, Celia’s client service has focused on healthcare, insurance, and benefits, including publicly-traded, mutual, not-for-profit, and public-sector organizations in addition to her role leading our board services work for North America.

Celia specializes in advising clients on both enterprise and business unit strategies, including working closely with top teams and boards of directors to evaluate their strategic options. Many of these strategies have included due diligence on key capabilities and technologies, merger management, creation of innovative partnerships, and new supporting operating models and governance. Her work often includes facilitating alignment across of a broad array of stakeholders in both private- and public-sector organizations. Her recent work supporting boards tends to focus on governance, diversity and inclusion, and the evolving role of boards given evolving risks and uncertainties. She conducts research, is a frequent speaker, and has created the developmental training that forms the basis of our enrolling sessions for new board members.

Celia is a core faculty member for McKinsey’s leadership forums, bringing actionable solutions to CEOs and their direct reports. She also leads our West Coast healthcare CEO roundtable, which convenes quarterly to discuss industry issues.

Outside her client work, Celia is an executive committee member of the board of directors for the California Business Roundtable. She is also an active member of AltaMed Foundation’s board of trustees, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving access to healthcare for underserved communities.

Published Work

How CEOs can mitigate compounding risks,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024

Navigating geopolitics with Richard Haass,” McKinsey & Company, December 2023

Starting your board journey: Six steps to guide director hopefuls,” McKinsey & Company, December 2023

Diversity matters even more: The case for holistic impact, McKinsey & Company, December 2023

Rising CEOs: Lessons from the McKinsey Leadership Forum,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2023

Five questions boards should be asking about digital transformation,” Harvard Business Review, June 2021

A spotlight on boards’ response to the new risk environment: How boards are changing the way they think about risk in strategic decision making,” Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions, June 2021

The board’s role in building resilience,” McKinsey & Company, December 2022

Five ways to increase your board’s long-term impact,” McKinsey & Company, July 2022

The role of the board in preparing for extraordinary risk,” McKinsey & Company, March 2022

The postpandemic board agenda: Redefining corporate resilience,” McKinsey & Company, August 2021

Ron O’Hanley of State Street on corporate resilience and ESG,” McKinsey & Company, July 2021

How boards can help digital transformations,” McKinsey & Company, June 2021

The eight trends that will define 2021–and beyond,” McKinsey & Company, June 2021

How boards have risen to the COVID-19 challenge, and what’s next,” McKinsey & Company, April 2021

The board’s role during crisis and beyond,” McKinsey & Company, February 2021

Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, on corporate purpose during a crisis,” McKinsey & Company, November 2020

The board’s role in embedding corporate purpose: Five actions directors can take today,” McKinsey & Company, November 2020

Boards in the time of coronavirus,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020

Boards of directors in the tunnel of the coronavirus crisis,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020

Corporate diversity: If you don’t measure it, it won’t get done,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020

How workers’ compensation carriers can build better models of care in the US,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020 

Education

Stanford University
MBA

University of Texas at Austin
BBA, business, finance