An interview with Delta CEO Ed Bastian, McKinsey’s Global Banking Annual Review 2025, geopolitics in Asia, and more: The Weekend Read

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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

As you head into the weekend and the start of November, take a moment to explore some of our newest insights, including an interview with Delta CEO Ed Bastian, McKinsey’s Global Banking Annual Review 2025, and more.

Ed Bastian, sporting a pair of glasses and dressed in a blue suit, light blue shirt, and a purple tie.

Delta, the world’s most valuable airline, turned 100 this year. The company’s CEO, Ed Bastian, talks with McKinsey Senior Partner Eric Kutcher about leading Delta through major disruptions (the pandemic and now, geopolitical uncertainty) and what it takes to stay ahead in one of the very toughest industries.

Tune in to the podcast

Animation of a spiral slowing spinning behind hex-patterned glass.

Banks need to prepare for the next growth curve. In McKinsey’s Global Banking Annual Review 2025, Ido Segev, Saptarshi Ganguly, Jon Steitz, Klaus Dallerup, Miklós Dietz, Pradip Patiath, and coauthors write that precision is the avenue to profitable growth.

Achieve growth with precision

An image linking to the web page “In conversation: Asia at the geoeconomic crossroads” on McKinsey.com

McKinsey Partner Ziad Haider speaks with Marty Natalegawa and Shankar Menon, two McKinsey senior advisers with deep knowledge of Asian geopolitics, about how the region’s governments and companies are navigating shifting trade winds and escalating strategic competition amid recent geoeconomic developments.

Hear how Asia is adapting

Software engineers huddled over a computer screen, collaborating on a project

In this new era of work, AI is upending what we do and how we do it—and smart employers are rethinking how to cultivate the skills their organizations need to thrive. In a new episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast, McKinsey’s Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock and Beth Cobert of the Strada Education Foundation discuss how cross-sector collaborations can help employees develop new skills for the future.

What leaders need to get right

Ready to unwind?

—Edited by Joyce Yoo, editor, New York

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﻿Banks need to prepare for the next growth curve. In McKinsey’s Global Banking Annual Review 2025, Ido Segev, Saptarshi Ganguly, Jon Steitz, Klaus Dallerup, Miklós Dietz, Pradip Patiath, and coauthors write that precision is the avenue to profitable growth.﻿

﻿The way to win in corporate venturing: Serial building and AI﻿

﻿JPMorgan Chase’s Derek Waldron on building an AI-first bank culture﻿

6-Across: Corporate P&L pro﻿

Banks need to prepare for the next growth curve. In McKinsey’s Global Banking Annual Review 2025, Ido Segev, Saptarshi Ganguly, Jon Steitz, Klaus Dallerup, Miklós Dietz, Pradip Patiath, and coauthors write that precision is the avenue to profitable growth.

The way to win in corporate venturing: Serial building and AI

JPMorgan Chase’s Derek Waldron on building an AI-first bank culture

6-Across: Corporate P&L pro