Ezra is a global leader in McKinsey’s work on macro scenarios and trends and advises clients on how these forces can be used in critical strategy and investment decisions. He also coleads our strategic transformation services in North America.
Ezra has been at the center of McKinsey’s global response to the COVID-19 crisis, leading the development of McKinsey’s COVID-19 scenarios as well as discussions and service with clients globally. He has co-authored some of McKinsey’s core publications during the pandemic, including “Safeguarding our Lives and our Livelihoods: The imperative of our time” which established our global economic and epidemiological framework for analyzing the impact of COVD-19.
Ezra serves strategic players and investors across industries on all aspects of strategy, portfolio optimization, and due diligence, with his deepest expertise in engineering, construction, and building materials, where he works with leading manufacturers and distributors across their agenda. Examples of his recent client work include the following:
- helping a top US building products distributor develop and implement comprehensive organic and inorganic growth, and digital innovation strategy
- supporting a leading US roofing manufacturer implement a growth strategy including ongoing initiatives to drive innovation and lead market disruption
- working with a large global chemicals player to assess the potential impact of economic and non-economic factors on global trade flows in critical sectors
Ezra rejoined McKinsey in 2013, after working three years at one of the world’s largest hedge funds, where he helped manage the client service research team responsible for explaining the company’s investment philosophy, its performance, and its evolving views about markets and the global economy to clients.
During his first ten years with McKinsey, Ezra was a senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute—McKinsey’s business and economics research arm—and co-founded the North American Knowledge Center, a center of excellence for business research and advanced analytics. He led research on a range of topics including the emergence of China and India, demographics, and consumer behavior, and played a principal role in the development and client dissemination of McKinsey’s global macro scenarios during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
Ezra was previously based in McKinsey’s Boston and Washington, DC offices.
Published work
“Struggling to find skilled workers? Three ways tech can help,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, May 2024
“Tradespeople wanted: The need for critical trade skills in the US,” McKinsey & Company, April 2024
“2024 and beyond: Will it be economic stagnation or the advent of productivity-driven abundance?,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024
“War in Ukraine: Twelve disruptions changing the world, one year on,” McKinsey & Company, July 2023
“Deciphering the economy’s mixed signals,” McKinsey & Company, May 2023
“2023, a testing year: Will the macro-scenario range widen or narrow?,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023
“Inflation fighter and value creator: Procurement’s best-kept secret,” McKinsey & Company, October 2022
“Something’s coming: How US companies can build resilience, survive a downturn, and thrive in the next cycle,” McKinsey & Company, July 2022
“War in Ukraine: Twelve disruptions changing the world,” McKinsey & Company, May 2022
“Navigating inflation: A new playbook for CEOs,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2022
“War in Ukraine: Lives and livelihoods, lost and disrupted,” McKinsey & Company, March 2022
“Why your COVID-19 exit needs ‘strategy inserts,’” McKinsey & Company, June 2021
“Looking beyond the pandemic: Could the world economy gain more than it lost to COVID-19?,” McKinsey & Company, June 2021
“As you return from the summer break, can you lead toward a COVID-Exit?,” McKinsey & Company, September 2020
“COVID-19: Saving thousands of lives and trillions in livelihoods,” McKinsey & Company, August 2020
“US freight after COVID-19: What’s next?,” McKinsey & Company, June 2020
“Crushing coronavirus uncertainty: The big ‘unlock’ for our economies,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020
“In the tunnel: Executive expectations about the shape of the coronavirus crisis,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020
“Safeguarding our lives and our livelihoods: The imperative of our time,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020
“Strategy in the face of disruption: A way forward for the North American building-products industry,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019
“The global forces inspiring a new narrative of progress,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2017
“Geostrategic risks on the rise,” McKinsey & Company, May 2016
“Climbing the curve quickly in petrochemicals,” McKinsey Quarterly, September 2014
Growth and competitiveness in the United States: The role of its multinational companies, McKinsey Global Institute, June, 2010
Shaping strategy in an uncertain macro-economic Environment, McKinsey & Company, December 2008
“Why baby boomers will need to work longer,” McKinsey Quarterly, November, 2009
“Talkin’ ’bout my generation: The economic impact of aging U.S. baby boomers,” McKinsey Global Institute, June, 2008
“The ‘bird of gold’: The rise of India’s consumer market,” McKinsey Global Institute, May, 2007
“From ‘made in China’ to ‘sold in China’: The rise of the Chinese Urban Consumer,” McKinsey Global Institute, November, 2006
“Accelerating India’s growth through financial system reform,” McKinsey Global Institute, May, 2006
“Increasing global competition and labor productivity: Lessons from the US automotive industry,” McKinsey Global Institute, November, 2005
“The economic impact of an aging Japan,” McKinsey on Economics, May 2005
“The coming demographic deficit: How aging will reduce global savings,” McKinsey Global Institute, December, 2004
Past experience
Bridgewater Associates
COO, client service content pillar
Standard & Poor’s DRI
Principal Economist
Education
McGill University
BA, economics
