Carolyn founded and coleads McKinsey’s CEO excellence work, coaching many Fortune 100 CEOs to maximize their effectiveness in the role, including business aspiration-setting and roadmap, culture shifts to unlock performance, top-team effectiveness, managing external stakeholders, board engagement, and resetting their own personal operating model. She also works extensively with clients to drive organizational effectiveness at pivotal moments—such as merger, strategic shift, and crisis—and lead large-scale performance improvement programs integrating strategic, operational, and cultural initiatives.
Examples of Carolyn’s recent client work include the following:
- new CEO onboarding across industries, counseling many CEOs as they navigate their CEO journey in terms of business priorities, organization, top team, stakeholders, and board dynamics
- working directly with the CEO and top team to manage one of the largest mergers in financial services and reinvent the operating model of a Fortune 50 firm in a new regulatory environment
- redesigning and installing a new operating model—including organization design, day-to-day management practices, culture, and incentives—of a Fortune 50 consumer-goods company to align resources and attention for future growth
- managing the merger integration between a spin-off of a Fortune 20 company with a fast-growth tech firm to establish a newco, involving significant culture, integration, leadership, and strategy alignment, as well as building and execution
In addition to her direct work with clients, Carolyn conducts ongoing research. Among her many articles are two of the most read McKinsey Quarterly articles of all time, “The CEO's role in leading transformation” and “The irrational side of change management”. She has also authored two foundational publications: “Performance culture imperative: A hard-nosed approach to the soft stuff” and “Breaking new ground: Making a successful transition into your new executive role”.
Carolyn regularly gives keynote speeches and hosts CEO and senior executive roundtables on topics related to leadership, executive transitions, and change management. Carolyn serves as faculty for McKinsey’s executive programs: The Bower Forum, The CEO Excellence Forum, and Executive Transitions Master Class.
She is a co-author of the New York Times bestseller CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.
Carolyn is a Canadian and British citizen, and currently lives in San Francisco with her two children and husband. She is a board trustee of Bay Area Discovery Museum and has a Master’s degree in economics and international relations from University of St Andrews, Scotland.
Podcast
“How to make a strong start as a CEO,” McKinsey & Company, August 2023
“Leadership lessons from the world’s best CEOs,” McKinsey & Company, February 2022
“Business priorities in the postpandemic era,” McKinsey & Company, April 2021
“In conversation: The CEO moment,” McKinsey & Company, October 2020
“What sets the world’s best CEOs apart,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020
“How new CEOs can manage for the future,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020
Published work
“Serving a greater purpose: CEO Excellence revisited,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024
“The CEOs secret to successful leadership: CEO Excellence revisited,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024
“How to prepare for the CEO role,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024
“How to transition out of the CEO role,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024
“Sending it forward: Successfully transitioning out of the CEO role,” McKinsey Quarterly, July 2023
“Staying ahead: How the best CEOs continually improve performance,” McKinsey Quarterly, May 2023
“Four steps to success for new CEOs,” McKinsey & Company, April 2023
“Leading with authenticity: A conversation with Bill George,” McKinsey & Company, April 2023
“Stepping up: Becoming a high-potential CEO candidate,” McKinsey Quarterly, March 2023
“Actions the best CEOs are taking in 2023,” McKinsey & Company, March 2023
“Starting strong: Making your CEO transition a catalyst for renewal,” McKinsey Quarterly, November 2022
“Author Talks: What separates the best CEOs from the rest?,” McKinsey & Company, December 2021
“The CEO moment: Leadership for a new era,” McKinsey Quarterly, July 2020
“What sets the world’s best CEOs apart,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020
“The mindsets and practices of excellent CEOs,” McKinsey & Company, October 2019
“Continuous improvement: the realities of making the shift,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, June 2019
“How continuous improvement can build a competitive edge,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, May 2019
“Closing the gender gap: A missed opportunity for new CEOs,” McKinsey Quarterly, October 2018
“New leaders: Tap your team ASAP,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, October 2018
“Agility: mindset makeovers are critical,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, April 2018
“6 elements to create a high-performing culture,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, April 2018
“Culture: 4 keys to why it matters,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, March 2018
“It really isn’t about 100 days,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, November 2017
“The POTUS as CEO-TUS,” First Year Project, Miller Center at the University of Virginia, July 2016
“What CEOs can teach the next US president,” McKinsey & Company, July 2016
“Ascending to the C-suite,” McKinsey & Company, April 2015
“Three Steps to a High-Performance Culture,” The Conference Board, January 2012
“Four Motivation Mistakes Most Leaders Make,” Harvard Business Review, October 2011
“The irrational side of change management,” McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey & Company, April 2009
The Performance Culture Imperative: A Hard-Nosed Approach to The Soft Stuff, McKinsey & Company, 2007
Past experience
MaRS Discovery District
Director, business development and strategy
Education
University of St Andrews
MA, economics and international relations