Long before someone takes the corner office, they need to build the skills and rapport that will help them thrive once they move in. That CEO journey is the focus of this episode of The McKinsey Podcast with McKinsey Partner Blair Epstein, Senior Partner Carolyn Dewar, Partner Julia McClatchy, and Senior Partner Vik Malhotra. They share their collective insights with Roberta Fusaro, McKinsey editorial director, about how CEOs should prepare for the role, navigate those critical early days, sustain personal and organizational performance, and continue to evolve their leadership styles.

A CEO for All Seasons book: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/ceo-for-all-seasons

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Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

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As AI capabilities accelerate, nearly anyone can create software. The real business constraint is no longer code, but judgment: how quickly an organization can learn, adapt, and redeploy talent at scale. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy joins McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher to dig into how AI is industrializing intelligence, supercharging productivity, and forcing leaders to rethink everything from pricing models to workforce strategy.

In this recurring series on The McKinsey Podcast, Eric speaks with top CEOs about the practice of leadership

The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.

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Affordable luxury: It may sound like an oxymoron, but in an uncertain economy, it’s striking a chord with cautious consumers looking for value—and expecting more from the brands they buy. “Brands are actively thinking about the fact that people are shifting their spending,” according to McKinsey Senior Partner Gemma D’Auria. “If they want to stay relevant, they need to meet their customers where they are.” In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, D’Auria and McKinsey Senior Partner Holger Harreis speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about , including what consumers want, where they’re finding it, and how fashion executives can use AI to enhance creativity, competitiveness, and the customer experience overall.

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Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

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