Forward Thinking

Latest Episodes:

Forward Thinking on progress in science funding, immigration, and biosecurity with Alec Stapp Aug 10, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Michael Chui talks with Alec Stapp, co-CEO of the Institute for Progress, a Washington, DC, think tank he co-founded in January 2022. Progress is a policy choice, its founders say, and they have chosen to focus initially on three topics—meta-science, high-skill immigration, and biosecurity. Why those three? Their view is that each one is important, neglected by other researchers, and potentially tractable politically.

This conversation was recorded in July 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit:
https://mck.co/AlecStapp

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Forward Thinking on the sustainability revolution in textiles and the fashion industry with Edwin Keh Jul 27, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush talks to Edwin Keh, the CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. It was set up in 2006, with the aim of becoming a center of excellence in research and development in the fashion and textiles industry. The institute has won awards for garment recycling and for its work on a yarn that captures carbon dioxide from the air. Keh is also on the faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has long experience in the retail business, working for Walmart and Donna Karan, among others.

This conversation was recorded in June 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit:
https://mck.co/EdwinKeh

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Forward Thinking on people, places, and the revenge of places that don’t matter with Andrés Rodríguez-Pose Jul 13, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush talks to Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Princesa de Asturias Chair and a professor of economic geography at the London School of Economics. Between 2015 and 2017, he was president of the Regional Science Association International. He won the European Regional Science Association Prize in regional science in 2018. He covers topics including:
- What factors make a particular place or individuals in a particular place successful or unsuccessful
- Whether political decentralization or devolution works
- The revenge of places that don’t matter

This conversation was recorded in June 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/ARP

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Forward Thinking on war in Ukraine, inflation, and cooperation in a fractured world with Jean Pisani-Ferry Jun 29, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush talks to leading French economist Jean Pisani-Ferry. He holds the Tommaso Padoa Schioppa chair at the European University Institute. He's a senior fellow at Bruegel, the European think tank, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute in Washington, DC. He's also a professor of economics with Sciences Po in Paris. And from 2013 to 2016, he served as commissioner general of France Strategy, the ideas lab of the French government. He covers topics including:
• The three economic challenges triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
• How worried people should be about inflation
• How institutions can cooperate globally to nurture global public goods like the natural world, food, and health in a fractured world

This conversation was recorded in May 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/JPF

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Forward Thinking on measuring the value of the digital age with Avinash Collis Jun 01, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Michael Chui talks with Avinash Collis, professor of digital economy at The University of Texas at Austin, and Digital Fellow at Stanford and MIT. He covers topics including:
— One of the greatest inventions of the 20th century
— How to run economics experiments to figure out how much digital services are worth
— How much value digital services provide that GDP doesn’t capture

This conversation was recorded in April 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/AviCollis

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Forward Thinking on trade, vaccines, and sustainable and inclusive growth with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala May 18, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, guest interviewer Acha Leke talks with Ngozi-Okonjo-Iweala. Acha Leke is a McKinsey senior partner in Johannesburg and is chairman of McKinsey’s Africa region. Okonjo-Iweala became director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in March 2021—the first woman and the first African to serve in this role.

Okonjo-Iweala talks about her first few months leading the WTO and some of the initiatives underway, and discusses the challenge of inclusive and sustainable growth in the years ahead. She answers questions including:
— How has the COVID-19 crisis affected world trade?
— As trade rebounds, what will it take to ensure that trade patterns are much more inclusive?
— How do emerging economies ensure that they have the access they need to vaccines and build the capacity to manufacture them? What role can trade and the WTO have?
— What is the interplay between growth, inclusivity, and sustainability?
— What else do we need to do to ensure that women and SMEs have access to trade?
— What do you see as some of the opportunities emerging from the pandemic crisis?

This conversation was recorded in December 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: mck.co/NgoziOkonjoIweala

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Forward Thinking on democratizing technology with Anne-Marie Imafidon May 04, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, Janet Bush talks with British mathematician and technologist Anne‑Marie Imafidon, co-founder of Stemettes, a social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting the next generation of young women in STEM sectors.

Imafidon invokes the “herstory” of stellar female technologists, such as Gladys West, who contributed to the development of GPS; Hedy Lamarr, whose work on frequency-hopping spectrum technology enabled Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; and Stephanie Kwolek, who created the first ultra-strong synthetic fibers, Kevlar being the best-known. In a rallying call for inclusion in a technologically driven world, Imafidon talks about persistent bias in data collection and algorithms that are making very big decisions that affect large parts of people’s lives. The stakes are very, very high, and we need to get this right, she states.

This conversation was recorded in February 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/Imafidon

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Forward Thinking on the growing role of business in the net-zero transition with Claire O’Neill Apr 20, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush speaks with Claire O’Neill. While serving as a minister in the British government, O’Neill led the United Kingdom’s winning bid to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, in 2021. After leaving politics, she joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) where she works closely with companies on the net-zero transition, the subject of a major recent study by MGI, McKinsey Sustainability, and McKinsey’s Advanced Industries and Global Energy and Materials practices. She covers topics including the following:
● COP26 outcomes
● The potential impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on progress toward net zero
● How businesses are mobilizing for sustainability

This conversation was recorded in March 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/ClaireONeill

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Forward Thinking on tech and the unpredictability of prediction with Benedict Evans Apr 06, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, Michael Chui talks with Benedict Evans, an independent technology analyst. Evans covers topics including the following:
● The generational shifts in technology that occur every 15 years or so
● What characterizes a “universal product”
● Why Web3 generates the most polarizing views among senior tech people
● Whether tech is becoming a regulated industry

This conversation was recorded in February 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/BenedictEvans

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Forward Thinking on sustainable and inclusive growth with Ron O’Hanley Mar 23, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, guest interviewer Jonathan Woetzel talks with Ron O’Hanley, president and CEO of State Street Corporation, a major servicer and manager of institutional assets. State Street has committed to making its portfolios carbon neutral by 2050, and O’Hanley talks about how his own organization is trying to meet that target but also helping customers to develop sustainability strategies. Among other topics on his mind are the pandemic, which dramatically illuminated vulnerabilities in societal linkages; the growth potential of digital finance; and the importance of affordable housing. He answers questions including the following:
● What will it take to make State Street’s portfolios carbon neutral by 2050?
● How will advances agreed at COP26 in Glasgow affect the climate agenda and State Street’s business?
● How does stepped-up investment in digital finance lead to growth?
● Is there a trade-off between growth and inclusivity?
● What are policy unlocks needed to create a sustainable, inclusive growth cycle?

This conversation was recorded in December 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/RonOHanley

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