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Ani Kelkar

PartnerBoston

Advises incumbents, investors, and disruptors in the automotive, aerospace, energy, industrial automation, and robotics sectors on topics including strategy, growth, and operations.

Ani is a partner based in McKinsey’s Greater Boston office and is a leader within the firm’s Advanced Industries Practice. In this capacity, he serves OEMs, suppliers, and service providers in the automotive, aerospace and defense, energy, industrial automation, and robotics sectors. Additionally, Ani is a core leader within the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility (MCFM) in the Americas and oversees its work with disruptors. He leads the advanced automation and autonomy sector within MCFM and serves industrial automation, robotics, and autonomous systems disruptors. He also works with investors looking to capture opportunities arising from major mobility trends, such as autonomous driving, electrification, software-defined vehicles, shared mobility, and connectivity. Ani has authored several publications on the topics of automation and autonomous systems.

Examples of his client work include the following:

  • delivering a step-change improvement in margin and operational performance through a comprehensive transformation of the supply chain organization for a defense OEM
  • embedding early warning systems across supply chain and quality organizations to shift to proactive operating models and reduce operational disruptions for an aerospace OEM
  • driving value capture as part of a “merger of equals” to deliver deal synergies in an accelerated timeline for an automotive supplier
  • collaborating on a strategy design and go-to-market “war room” to drive a 100 percent top-line growth rate for a robotics disruptor
  • evaluating multiple transactions across autonomous systems for people and goods mobility, leading to a $1 billion investment from an innovation fund for a growth investor
  • leading a “full potential of business” transformation at an automotive supplier, resulting in step-change improvements in production, supply chain, and SG&A functions

An engineer by training, Ani earned his PhD from Purdue University and his bachelor’s from the Institute of Chemical Technology in India. In addition to his work at McKinsey, he serves as a director at ICT Foundation, an organization established to help promote and support educational activities at his alma mater.

Published Work

Remote-driving services: The next disruption in mobility innovation?,” McKinsey & Company, January 2025

Getting on board with shared autonomous mobility,” McKinsey & Company, January 2025

Software-defined hardware in the age of AI,” McKinsey & Company, January 2025

An early-warning system will make your supply chain more resilient,” Harvard Business Review, December 2024

The next big arenas of competition,” McKinsey & Company, October 2024

Will autonomy usher in the future of truck freight transportation?,” McKinsey & Company, September 2024

McKinsey technology trends outlook 2024,” McKinsey & Company, July 2024

Navigating unknowns: Auto insurance questions in a new mobility era,” McKinsey & Company, April 2024

What technology trends are shaping the mobility sector?,” McKinsey & Company, February 2024

Autonomous vehicles moving forward: Perspectives from industry leaders,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024

Driverless Cars Are Losing to Driver-ish Cars,” The Atlantic, October 2023

Unlocking the industrial potential of robotics and automation,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023

Where does shared autonomous mobility go next?,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023

Something’s coming: How US companies can build resilience, survive a downturn, and thrive in the next cycle,” McKinsey & Company, September 2022

The road to affordable autonomous mobility,” McKinsey & Company, January 2022

What's next for Autonomous Vehicles,” McKinsey & Company,” December 2021

Past Experience

Chevron
Engineer

Soytronics
Cofounder

Education

Purdue University
PhD, chemical engineering

Institute of Chemical Technology
BS, chemical engineering