Agentic commerce, rewiring martech, the latest Five Fifty, and more: The Weekend Read

CURATED PICKS FOR YOUR DOWNTIME, FROM OUR EDITORS

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Brought to you by Alex Panas, global leader of industries, & Axel Karlsson, global leader of functional practices and growth platforms

Welcome to the latest edition of The Weekend Read. We hope you find our perspectives useful. Let us know what you think at Alex_Panas@McKinsey.com and Axel_Karlsson@McKinsey.com.

—Alex and Axel

Ease into the weekend with the week’s must-read insights on agentic commerce, enterprise tech, the latest Five Fifty, and more.

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How is agentic AI remaking the shopping experience? In a new report, Katharina Schumacher, Roger Roberts, and Katharina Giebel explore the future of agentic commerce and how AI agents can act on consumers’ behalf to anticipate their needs, navigate shopping options, negotiate deals, and execute transactions.

Usher in a new era

CEOs experience four distinct phases of leadership—each with its unique challenges and lessons. Weather every season in the CEO journey and explore how leaders can thrive at each stage with the latest Five Fifty.

Your five-minute briefing—or a deep dive in fifty

An image linking to the web page “Triple the return” on McKinsey.com

Technology leaders could get more value from enterprise technology by harnessing AI. Aamer Baig, Klemens Hjartar, Tanguy Catlin, and coauthors outline six imperatives that can transform enterprise technology and bring significantly more value for companies.

Transform ROI

Black woman working from home office and looking pensively at her computer screen

When implemented properly, new AI tools can transform how procurement gets done. By partnering with their procurement teams, state and local government leaders can improve procurement efficiency using proven practices and leading-edge AI, according to Carter Cordes, Elizabeth Murthy, Drew Erdmann, and coauthors.

Eyes on the prize

Ready to unwind?

—Edited by Joyce Yoo, editor, New York

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﻿CEOs experience four distinct phases of leadership—each with its unique challenges and lessons. Weather every season in the CEO journey and explore how leaders can thrive at each stage with the latest Five Fifty.

Technology leaders could get more value from enterprise technology by harnessing AI. Aamer Baig, Klemens Hjartar, Tanguy Catlin, and coauthors outline six imperatives that can transform enterprise technology and bring significantly more value for companies.

﻿Rewiring martech: From cost center to growth engine﻿

﻿Operational resilience has become critical. How are banks responding?﻿

﻿With 64-Across, 1998 hit for Faith Hill

CEOs experience four distinct phases of leadership—each with its unique challenges and lessons. Weather every season in the CEO journey and explore how leaders can thrive at each stage with the latest Five Fifty.

Rewiring martech: From cost center to growth engine

Operational resilience has become critical. How are banks responding?

With 64-Across, 1998 hit for Faith Hill