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Inside the Strategy Room

Inside the Strategy Room

By: McKinsey & Company
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We talk with McKinsey partners and corporate executives on the challenges they face creating lasting strategies in a fast-changing world. We also examine the different ways these executives approach these challenges and the new and innovative ways they think of creating a vision for their enterprises.2026 McKinsey & Company Economics Management Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales Politics & Government
Episodes
  • 289. The CFO as growth leader: Levi’s Harmit Singh on transformation and the “Magic of the And.”
    Feb 5 2026

    Levi Strauss & Co. Chief Finance and Growth Officer, Harmit Singh, joins us to share lessons from his 13-year journey transforming the iconic clothing company. Singh explains how Levi’s returned to growth, strengthened profitability, and shifted toward a direct-to-consumer model, while staying true to its purpose-driven heritage. He introduces the “Magic of the And”–his approach to driving both top- and bottom-line performance– and discusses building a performance culture, navigating volatility and tariffs with cross-functional teams, developing finance talent, and approaching AI in finance with practical use cases and discipline. Joining Harmit for this discussion is Steve Begley, a senior partner based in our New York office.

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    37 mins
  • 288. Securing agentic AI: A playbook
    Jan 29 2026

    As organizations increasingly employ agentic AI, they face new risks that could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive data, or erode customer trust. Rich Isenberg and Charlie Lewis join us to discuss these emerging risks and how leaders can proactively ensure secure and compliant adoption.

    Rich Isenberg is a partner in our Atlanta office and a leader within our Risk and Resilience and Cybersecurity Practices. Charlie Lewis is a partner in our Connecticut office and leads our cybersecurity and tech resilience work across North America and Europe. Together, they offer a frontline perspective on how organizations are implementing agentic AI, the emerging forms of cyber and operational risk, and the critical steps leaders must take to build robust governance and resilience.

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    Deploying agentic AI with safety and security: A playbook for technology leaders

    The change agent: Goals, decisions, and implications for CEOs in the agentic age

    Seizing the agentic AI advantage

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    McKinsey Risk & Resilience: Our latest insights

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    54 mins
  • 287. IBM Chairman, President, and CEO Arvind Krishna on setting bold ambition and driving growth through innovation
    Jan 22 2026

    Arvind Krishna, the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of IBM, stepped into the CEO role at IBM in 2020, following 30 years at the company. Prior to that, he held various senior positions, spanning VP of Cloud and Cognitive Software to Head of Research, where he drove innovation in core technologies – including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and cloud platform services. In today’s episode, Arvind joins our North America Chair and senior partner Eric Kutcher to discuss how he led IBM to triple its share price in just five years, the current AI landscape, how to pursue opportunities from volatility, the potential of quantum computing, what it takes to drive growth through innovation, and the dangers of being too risk-averse.

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    Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian: Lessons from the captain’s seat

    Doug Parker, former chairman and CEO of American Airlines, shares leadership lessons

    John Stankey talks about leaning into the long term at AT&T

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    43 mins
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