The McKinsey Podcast

Ask shoppers about their beauty routine today, and you might be surprised: yes, skin care and fragrances, but also cold plunges, snail-mucin serums, and K-beauty products purchased via livestream. And soon, more consumers may start turning to AI agents to suss out products and make purchases. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Partners Alexis Wolfer and Sara Hudson speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about McKinsey’s latest State of Beauty research—including what brands need to consider to win over both humans and algorithms.
The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.
To watch the full-length version of this interview, please visit The McKinsey Podcast’s YouTube channel.
Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.
See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Credit and financial-services organizations are using AI to reshape their offerings and interactions with consumers. But as Will Lansing, CEO of FICO, explains, mastering the technology is only one part of a broader transformation story for the company and the industry. “Leadership comes from followership,” he says. “It comes from people believing in the mission.” And that level of company-wide conviction is critical if executives want to solve some of AI’s hardest problems: explainability, fairness, and trust. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Lansing speaks with McKinsey Senior Partner and North America Chair Eric Kutcher about what it will take to maintain FICO’s 70-year mission of enabling impartial lending, how the company can address emerging AI regulation, and how it can get the most from its data.
In this recurring series on The McKinsey Podcast, Kutcher speaks with top CEOs about the practice of leadership.
The McKinsey Podcast is regularly cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.
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For decades, food and beverage companies could count on population growth and geographic expansion to create results. That engine has sputtered out, and investors have punished the sector for it—the industry shed nearly $1 trillion in enterprise value. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partners Duncan Miller and Frank Sänger speak with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about what’s behind the massive valuation drop, why the industry’s old moat—scale and brand loyalty—no longer holds, and why leaders in food and beverage should view AI not just as a cost-cutting tool but as the engine that funds growth itself.
The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.

Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.
See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

What does a better life actually look like to Americans? The McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility surveyed 30,000 of them and found that, despite today’s polarized discourse, two-thirds share the same top goal: financial security, regardless of race, income, or geography. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Diana Ellsworth and Partner JP Julien join Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to explore findings from the survey—offering employers, educators, and policymakers a clearer picture of what would move the needle for many Americans.
The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.
Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.
See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Geopolitical surprise has become a permanent cost of doing business—and a one-size-fits-all approach to scenario planning can’t keep pace with it. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Partner and Global Director of Geopolitics Ziad Haider joins Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to unpack five tools for sharpening foresight: horizon scanning, scenario planning, contingency planning, simulations, and tabletop exercises. They discuss why so few companies use these tools at scale, how AI is starting to reshape geopolitical risk assessment, and why human judgment remains essential for seeing around corners.
The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.
Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.
See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information