OUR BEST IDEAS FOR THE C-SUITE

Welcome to the latest edition of the CEO Shortlist, a biweekly newsletter of our best ideas for the C-suite. This week, we offer two outlooks on what lies ahead: one on the technology of the future, and one on building better businesses.

For the past few years, we have appreciated the opportunity to connect with you. But all things must pass. One of us—Axel—will soon put the learnings of the CEO Shortlist to work in a new way. Axel reports that “after 25 wonderful years, I’m leaving McKinsey to become CEO of Niam Group, a leading private markets firm in northern Europe. You can reach me at axel.karlsson@niam.com.” In the meantime, you can continue to reach Alex at Alex_Panas@McKinsey.com, and please look for the next issue when we’ll introduce the CEO Shortlist’s new coauthor.

As ever, we hope you find our perspectives novel and insightful. Thank you.

—Alex and Axel

The true state of play on AI. The latest edition of our landmark AI survey finds that most organizations are still in the experimentation phase, they’re deeply curious about agentic AI, and many are reporting real cost and revenue benefits. Thirty-nine percent say they are seeing EBIT impact at the enterprise level. Intriguingly, it’s the most ambitious companies that are seeing the biggest benefits. Read the full report to find out exactly what companies are doing.

Experience pays. Our sixth annual survey on venture building finds that new ventures are seeing larger revenues, sooner, in large part because serial builders’ skills are maturing. The practices that lead to success today go beyond the foundational elements that emerged as success factors in previous years. Now, companies are using technology such as AI to create new ventures, and many respondents say data- and AI-driven ventures are in their future. Our new report offers a guide to leaders looking to grow.

We hope you find these ideas helpful. See you in a couple of weeks with more McKinsey ideas for the CEO and others in the C-suite.

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