This is a profile image of Richard Sellschop

Richard Sellschop

Senior PartnerConnecticut – Darien

Leads our Global Mining Service Line and heads up our digital and analytics work within the Metals & Mining Practice globally, focused on helping clients around the world derive impact from digital, analytics, and innovation in the mining, metals, energy, chemicals, advanced-industries, and private-equity sectors

Richard is a Senior partner in McKinsey's Connecticut office. He focuses on achieving rapid, sustainable impact for metals and mining clients through large-scale transformations, digital, analytics, lean operations, and strategy.

Richard's recent projects have centered on digital transformation efforts for several multinational metals, mining, and chemical companies. Most recently, he served one of the world's largest precious metals mining companies, developing its technology road map, business cases, and execution plan. He then helped it establish its digital-development studio, set up agile teams, and deliver apps and solutions.

In addition, he supported a multinational mining and steel client by leading its operational transformation. This included rapid reduction of unit-cost and process improvement work, utilizing digital and analytics levers to improve yield, optimize energy consumption, and reduce maintenance spend.

Among Richard's other projects, he also developed and implemented a condition-based and predictive-maintenance strategy for mobile mining assets.

Richard joined McKinsey in 2002 and spent several years based in South Africa and in the United Kingdom before transferring to the United States. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences (such as the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, Optimizing Mine Operation Conference, and MINExpo International) on the topics of productivity, digital, analytics, and innovation.

Earlier in his career, Richard worked in the automotive industry, focusing on lean manufacturing and powertrain development.

Published work

Breaking operational barriers to peak productivity,” McKinsey & Company, October 2024

Today’s good to great: Next-generation operational excellence,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024

AI: The next frontier of performance in industrial processing plants,” McKinsey & Company, September 2023

Freeport-McMoRan turns data into value,” McKinsey & Company, June 2023

When technology meets operational excellence,” McKinsey & Company, April 2023

Bridging the copper supply gap,” McKinsey & Company, February 2023

A new operations formula for the chemicals sector,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023

Clearing data-quality roadblocks: Unlocking AI in manufacturing,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023

Five agility myths in energy and heavy industries,” McKinsey & Company, February 2022

Inside a mining company’s AI transformation,” McKinsey & Company, February 2020

Building an offshore wind industry along the US East Coast: The role of state collaboration,” McKinsey & Company, June 2019

Scaling the US East Coast offshore wind industry to 20 gigawatts and beyond,” McKinsey & Company, April 2019

Unlocking the digital opportunity in metals,” McKinsey & Company, January 2018

How technology is reshaping supply and demand for natural resources,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2017

Productivity at the mine face: Pointing the way forward,” McKinsey & Company, August 2016

The dirty little secret about digitally transforming operations,” Harvard Business Review, May 2016

How digital innovation can improve mining productivity,” McKinsey & Company, November 2015

Mining's next performance horizon: Capturing productivity gains from innovation, McKinsey & Company, September 2015

The age of smart, safe, cheap robots is already here,” Harvard Business Review, June 2015

Productivity in mining operations: Reversing the downward trend,” McKinsey & Company, May 2015

Education

University of Michigan
MSc, automotive engineering

University of the Witwatersrand
BSc, mechanical engineering