Living 17 years of LGBTQ+ progress at McKinsey
I’ve been with McKinsey for about 17 years. Prior to joining, I was a senior manager at another consultancy and also served as vice president of programs at a national nonprofit.
Today, I am a senior partner who leads Cloud by McKinsey, which is all about bringing the benefits of cloud to our clients. I work with technology orgs on their corporate strategy, including mergers and acquisitions, and I help large enterprises, mostly banks, think through their technology strategy.
One of the things I love about McKinsey is you don’t step away from clients as you become more senior.
Helping organizations drive digital transformations
The pandemic fast-tracked the need for cloud migration. It was a necessity in many cases just to keep operating and it taught organizations how much more is possible through cloud adoption. We’re working with clients to figure out what the next five to 10 years look like for them, and what they need to do to be successful.
We recently helped a large professional services firm define how to create a new digital offering and bring it to market. We’ve seen their market capitalization double. Similarly, for a large technology firm, we developed a strategy that involved taking older technologies and making them fresh again, helping to double their market cap in twelve months. These transformations are exciting and drive results for organizations that embrace new technology and strategy.
On being out at McKinsey
When I joined the firm, I had already come out after being at jobs where I wasn’t. Even with clients, I was a hundred percent open from the get-go, and I experienced zero issues because of it.
Part of my coming out process was getting comfortable with telling people who I am as an individual. I discovered when I am comfortable telling people who I am, they are much more comfortable telling me who they are. It creates a stronger bond and sense of trust. Being myself helped me build stronger client relationships, which have been a marker of success for me.
I’ve been a proud member of Equal at McKinsey, McKinsey’s worldwide network of LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies, for sixteen years, including many years as a leader. I am proud of the direction we’re taking with diversity and inclusion and the changes in the firm throughout my time here.
When I first joined Equal at McKinsey, the overall question was “Am I accepted here?” Now we’re focused on, “How do we create a firm where everyone is at the same level, regardless sexual orientation, race, or gender?” We’re experiencing a change in the culture and a deeper understanding of the business value of diversity. It’s not just a good business practice; it’s good business, period.
Our goals are to bring in more diverse people at every level of the firm and ensure we’re creating opportunities so all colleagues can feel welcome and be successful.
More about me
I’ve been married to my husband Mark for 19 years. I met him in a bar in Aspen and thought, “I will marry that man.” The next day, I asked him to be my boyfriend, and within two weeks, I’d flown to Chicago to meet him for our second date, which was on Valentine’s Day. During the trip, I met his parents and toured his workplace, and we considered ourselves married from the day we met.