As CEO of Merck, Ken Frazier gained the respect of his employees, shareholders, and the broader community - both through the company’s performance during his 11-year tenure and also through his handling of several tests of his leadership. 

Now Merck’s former executive chairman, he recently shared how his experience growing up during the Civil Rights Movement shaped his career, how he ensured that science stayed at the core of Merck’s mission, and how he sees business’s role in society.

In this, the first of two new episodes Frazier recorded for our Voices of CEO Excellence series, he spoke with Vik Malhotra, former chairman of our Americas region and co-author of last year’s New York Times bestseller, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest and Steve Van Kuiken, a former leader in our Life Sciences Practice and global leader of McKinsey Technology. 

Listen to other episodes in our Voices of CEO Excellence series:
Blackstone’s chairman, CEO, and cofounder, Stephen Schwarzman
Morgan Stanley’s chairman and CEO, James Gorman

Join our LinkedIn community of nearly 90,000 members and follow us on Twitter at @McKStrategy.

Explore our collection of Inside the Strategy Room episode transcripts on McKinsey.com

Take a masterclass with 67 of the world’s highest-performing CEOs and order your copy of the New York Times bestseller, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.

As CEO of Merck, Ken Frazier gained the respect of his employees, shareholders, and the broader community - both through the company’s performance during his 11-year tenure and also through his handling of several tests of his leadership. Now Merck’s former executive chairman, he recently shared how his experience growing up during the Civil Rights Movement shaped his career, how he ensured that science stayed at the core of Merck’s mission, and how he sees business’s role in society.
In this, the first of two new episodes Frazier recorded for our Voices of CEO Excellence series, he spoke with <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/vik-malhotra">Vik Malhotra</a>, former chairman of our Americas region and co-author of last year’s New York Times bestseller, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/ceo-excellence">CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevevankuiken">Steve Van Kuiken</a>, a former leader in our Life Sciences Practice and global leader of McKinsey Technology. 
Listen to other episodes in our Voices of CEO Excellence series:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/voices-of-ceo-excellence-blackstones-stephen-schwarzman">Blackstone’s chairman, CEO, and cofounder, Stephen Schwarzman</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/voices-of-ceo-excellence-morgan-stanleys-james-gorman">Morgan Stanley’s chairman and CEO, James Gorman</a></li>
</ul>
Join our <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&amp;-corporate-finance/?viewAsMember=true">LinkedIn community</a> of nearly 90,000 members and follow us on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/McKStrategy">@McKStrategy</a>.
Explore our collection of Inside the Strategy Room <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/itsr">episode transcripts on McKinsey.com</a>
Take a masterclass with 67 of the world’s highest-performing CEOs and order your copy of the New York Times bestseller, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/ceo-excellence">CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest</a>.

We talk with McKinsey partners and corporate executives on the challenges they face creating lasting strategies in a fast-changing world. We also examine the different ways these executives approach these challenges and the new and innovative ways they think of creating a vision for their enterprises.

What does it take to survive in a world of constant change? More than ever, enterprises need to create strategies that can meet current needs but also adapt to future demand. A regular series of interviews with McKinsey partners and corporate executives.

Inside the Strategy Room

We all know the world is moving faster. We also know that as upheaval becomes the norm, vast business opportunities will be within the grasp of the extraordinary few.  But it takes bold people and courageous approaches to seize those opportunities and create value.

In each episode of our weekly podcast, we sit down with the world’s highest-performing CEOs, CFOs, innovators, and McKinsey experts and discuss how they build the courage, clarity, conviction, and cohesion that allows their businesses to win by moving faster than the world around them. 

We all know the world is moving faster. We also know that as upheaval becomes the norm, vast business opportunities will be within the grasp of the extraordinary few.  But it takes bold people and courageous approaches to seize those opportunities and create value.
In each episode of our weekly podcast, we sit down with the world’s highest-performing CEOs, CFOs, innovators, and McKinsey experts and discuss how they build the courage, clarity, conviction, and cohesion that allows their businesses to win by moving faster than the world around them.

The former executive chairman and CEO of the pharmaceutical company offers candid reflections on how crises tested his commitment to values—both Merck’s and his own.

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