The CEO Shortlist

Our best new ideas for the C-suite
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Are deals so back?

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M&A growth in 2024 may have been relatively modest—globally, deal value was up 12 percent to $3.4 trillion. But the market dynamics that stymied dealmaking in the postpandemic years, including increased regulatory scrutiny and economic uncertainty, seem to be receding. As a result, we expect M&A markets to accelerate dramatically in the next six to 12 months.
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What we learned at Davos
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This week, we’re reflecting on learnings from this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland....
An image linking to the web page “Resilience pulse check: Harnessing collaboration to navigate a volatile world” on McKinsey.com.
Overheard on the Promenade
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We’ve just spent a fantastic week at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. Every year, we collaborate...
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Davos divination: What to expect at this year’s meeting
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This week, we feature some of the ideas we’re bringing to the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos later...
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When tailoring stakeholder comms, think EDGE
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Shareholders. Employees. Customers and governments. All are critical constituents for big-league CEOs. And according to our research,...
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How to surf the geopolitical waves
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You may not care about geopolitics—but geopolitics cares about you. So said Western intelligence agencies in a recent briefing...
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New-venture building spells optimism
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Choose your own venture. It’s been a challenging few years for global companies: sky-high geopolitical tensions have arrived...
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The new arenas of competition
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Ten years ago, CEOs and top teams typically focused on four or five critical issues at any one point in time. Today, it’s...
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The gen AI race is on. Who’s excelling, and who’s falling behind?
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The race to create value from gen AI tools is well under way, and the early leaders—and laggards—are already emerging.
A silhouette image featuring photos of diverse women of all ages and background. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the annual Women in the Workplace report in partnership with Lean In.
Parity for women in the workplace is a long way off
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For ten years, McKinsey has been proud to partner with LeanIn.Org to study the state of women in corporate America and Canada....
A CEO’s guide to being human
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Today, more than ever, exceptional leadership extends beyond strategy—it requires empathy, humility, authenticity, and...
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How to motivate your employees through review season
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This week, we feature two new articles about the employee experience and a look at what still needs to be done in the energy...