Rodney is the global leader of McKinsey Digital, helping clients across a range of industries harness the power of data and AI, modernize core technology, build new digital business, and fuel growth. McKinsey Digital now represents more than half of the firm’s client work, with more than 7,000 colleagues across 100 offices specialized in digital and analytics. In addition, Rodney leads Firmwide AI Transformation, an effort to "rewire" the way we operate as a firm as we move into our next century. In this role, Rodney convenes across our client service, technology, alliances, assets, and our gen AI transformation office to ensure we are leading in this AI moment.
Previously, he was the managing partner for McKinsey’s Northeast offices in the United States, which include our Boston, New York, and Stamford locations. Prior to that, he led McKinsey’s Healthcare Practice, working with clients in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare services. He currently works across industries globally, with concentrations in healthcare and private equity.
Rodney is a recognized thought leader, writing articles that appear in leading business and technical publications, including the Harvard Business Review and Nature Reviews. He is a coauthor of the books Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking Is Your Best Short-Term Strategy (Wharton School Press, 2018) and the best-seller Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and represents McKinsey at many external forums and CEO events.
In addition, Rodney serves on the board of BritishAmerican Business and is an advisory board member of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, which is focused on quantum technology, immunoengineering, and sustainability science.
Published work and videos
“Rewiring for the era of gen AI,” McKinsey & Company, October 2024
“Power forward: Five make-or-break truths about next-gen e-commerce,” McKinsey & Company, October 2024
“Getting it right: MLOps in energy and materials,” McKinsey & Company, May 2024
“Steady progress in approaching the quantum advantage,” McKinsey & Company, April 2024
“Choose the right transformation ‘bite size’,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024
“MLOps so AI can scale,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024
“A generative AI reset: Rewiring to turn potential into value in 2024,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024
“Beyond the hype: New opportunities for gen AI in energy and materials,” McKinsey & Company, February 2024
“Ten unsung digital and AI ideas shaping business,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024
“What really works when it comes to digital and AI transformations?,” McKinsey & Company, July 2023
“Rewired to outcompete,” McKinsey Quarterly, June 2023
“The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier,” McKinsey & Company, June 2023
“Quantum technology sees record investments, progress on talent gap,” McKinsey & Company, April 2023
“What’s your superpower? How companies can build an institutional capability to achieve competitive advantage,” McKinsey & Company, March 2023
“Digital transformations: The five talent factors that matter most,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023
“Five lessons from AI on closing quantum’s talent gap—before it’s too late,” McKinsey & Company, December 2022
“Digital twins: The foundation of the enterprise metaverse,” McKinsey & Company, October 2022
“Digital resilience: Consumer survey finds ample scope for growth,” McKinsey & Company, October 2022
“Digital transformation on the CEO agenda,” McKinsey & Company, May 2022
“Forging your own path: Sandra Horbach on building a career in private equity,” McKinsey & Company, March 2022
“The digital-value guardian: CEOs and digital transformations,” McKinsey & Company, December 2021
“Quantum computing use cases are getting real—what you need to know,” McKinsey & Company, December 2021
“Open-source e-commerce: The next wave of value for the enterprise,” McKinsey & Company, October 2021
“How industrial companies can put e-commerce at the heart of their growth strategy,” McKinsey & Company, September 2021
“How boards can help digital transformations,” McKinsey & Company, June 2021
“Creating strong digital B2B channels at industrial companies,” McKinsey & Company, May 2021
“Shifts in consumer behaviors,” video, McKinsey & Company, September 2020
“Evolution in B2B selling,” video, McKinsey & Company, September 2020
“What this means for the post-pandemic enterprise,” video, McKinsey & Company, September 2020
“What this means for the role of the CIO,” video, McKinsey & Company, September 2020
“The context for digital transformation,” video, McKinsey & Company, July 2020
“Components of digital transformation,” video, McKinsey & Company, July 2020
“Questions to guide digital transformation,” video, McKinsey & Company, July 2020
“Safety and service in the packaging industry: An interview with the CEO of Sealed Air,” McKinsey & Company, July 2020
“The digital-led recovery from COVID-19: Five questions for CEOs,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020
“Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking Is Your Best Short-Term Strategy,” Wharton Digital Press, 2018
“How leading CEOs manage their middle tenures,” McKinsey & Company, November 2018
“Leading for the long term,” McKinsey & Company, June 2018
“How successful CEOs manage their middle act,” Harvard Business Review, May-June 2018
Dennis Carey, Brian Dumaine, Michael Useem, and Rodney Zemmel, “Why CEOs should push back against short-termism,” Harvard Business Review, May 31, 2018
“Changing the nature of board engagement,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2015
“How the best board directors stay involved,” Harvard Business Review, February 23, 2015
“The road to positive R&D returns,” McKinsey & Company, February 2010
“Invention reinvented: McKinsey perspectives on pharmaceutical R&D,” McKinsey perspectives on pharmaceutical R&D, 2010
“Pharmaceutical R&D: the road to positive returns,” Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, August 1, 2009
Education
Trinity College, University of Cambridge
PhD, molecular biology
BA; MA, natural sciences
8.0.3
