This week, we feature a conversation between Alex Gorsky, former chair and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, and Andy West, senior partner and global coleader of our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice. 

Alex discusses his approach to developing strategy, the challenges and rewards of developing a successful innovation and M&A pipeline, and his approach to decision-making and building a star team. 

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Gen AI: Opportunities in M&A

Top M&A trends in 2024: Blueprint for success in the next wave of deals

This week, we feature a conversation between Alex Gorsky, former chair and CEO of Johnson &amp; Johnson, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/west-andy/">Andy West</a>, senior partner and global coleader of our Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice. Alex discusses his approach to developing strategy, the challenges and rewards of developing a successful innovation and M&amp;A pipeline, and his approach to decision-making and building a star team. 
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<a href="https://bit.ly/3CpJp4u">The Strategic CEO newsletter</a>
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<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/gen-ai-opportunities-in-m-and-a">Gen AI: Opportunities in M&amp;A</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/top-m-and-a-trends-in-2024-blueprint-for-success-in-the-next-wave-of-deals">Top M&amp;A trends in 2024: Blueprint for success in the next wave of deals</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

The world is moving faster, and 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 interview the world’s highest-performing CEOs, CFOs, innovators, and McKinsey experts and discuss how they build the courage, clarity, conviction, and cohesion that allow their businesses to win by moving faster than the world around them. 

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

225. Alex Gorsky, former chair and CEO of Johnson & Johnson

Today’s disruption has created a critical ‘Strategy Moment’ for organizations navigating a fundamentally changing basis of competitive advantage. Carolyn Dewar, Marcus Jacob and Laura LaBerge join us to debunk four strategy myths and unpack how long-held assumptions are being rewritten to shape foundational strategic choices for a future-focused reality. They also discuss where AI amplifies the challenge—and creates opportunity—and how to determine if your AI investment is pointed in the right strategic direction.  

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Today&rsquo;s disruption has created a critical &lsquo;Strategy Moment&rsquo; for organizations navigating a fundamentally changing basis of competitive advantage. <a href="https://links.mckinsey.com/NDczLVpZRS01MjIAAAGj5j6QqgfEjcfIPkH-tBYyiVYCK10EVHMEKmbOGGj5Nd8QJyPqBxDUFvEUtxsI1gxI4jtRxOo=">Carolyn Dewar</a>, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/marcus-jacob">Marcus Jacob</a> and <a href="https://links.mckinsey.com/NDczLVpZRS01MjIAAAGj5j6QqkavkZgHZXycs9NBppMgDKguGAtVq89j_mg0iv080TFcjODZ5yq4NuP9a4A_8LkC1MY=">Laura LaBerge</a> join us to debunk four strategy myths and unpack how long-held assumptions are being rewritten to shape foundational strategic choices for a future-focused reality. They also discuss where AI amplifies the challenge&mdash;and creates opportunity&mdash;and how to determine if your AI investment is pointed in the right strategic direction. &nbsp;
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<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/why-accelerated-resource-allocation-matters-in-the-age-of-ai">Why accelerated resource allocation matters in the age of AI</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-to-maximize-competitive-advantage">How to maximize competitive advantage</a>
<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-top-economic-performers-lean-into-their-competitive-advantage-to-guide-their-strategy">How top economic performers lean into their competitive advantage to guide their strategy</a>
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<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/ceo-for-all-seasons">A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership</a>

327. Four strategy myths holding your company back 

As we enter the fourth quarter, we look to where M&A stands and how dealmakers can finish strong. We also explore how AI is rewriting the traditional M&A playbook: success no longer comes from scale alone, but from building intelligent platforms and capabilities that compound over time to drive growth. Benjamin Houssard, Kameron Kordestani, Alex Liu, and Tobias Lundberg walk through how to leverage AI to turn a series of transactions into a self-reinforcing growth engine.

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Using M&A to launch a transformation

As we enter the fourth quarter, we look to where M&amp;A stands and how dealmakers can finish strong. We also explore how AI is rewriting the traditional M&amp;A playbook: success no longer comes from scale alone, but from building intelligent platforms and capabilities that compound over time to drive growth. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/benjamin-houssard?cid=cl4c-cml&amp;sid=%7b%7blead.SFDC%20Id:default=CL4C%7d%7d">Benjamin Houssard</a>, <a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fkameronkordestani%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CClare_Kitada-SYDN%40external.mckinsey.com%7C1185d76734c84e6ba02a08df1f06e638%7Ccc8936bc93824fff87cb6f55999549e7%7C0%7C0%7C639263786669490784%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=U6lvMeK4p%2FIbHkg%2BxvXK7o6iErUkoOrlYSpEoP47zaM%3D&amp;reserved=0">Kameron Kordestani</a>, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/alex-liu?cid=cl4c-cml&amp;sid=%7b%7blead.SFDC%20Id:default=CL4C%7d%7d">Alex Liu</a>, and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/tobias-lundberg">Tobias Lundberg</a> walk through how to leverage AI to turn a series of transactions into a self-reinforcing growth engine.
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<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/top-m-and-a-trends">2026 M&amp;A trends: Navigating a rapidly rebounding market</a>
<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/technology-m-and-a-ai-enters-its-industrial-phase">Technology M&amp;A: AI enters its industrial phase</a>
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<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/advanced-industries-geopolitics-economics-and-technology-drive-m-and-a">Advanced industries: Geopolitics, economics, and technology drive M&amp;A</a>
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<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/inside-the-strategy-room/192-using-m-a-to-launch-a-transformation">Using M&amp;A to launch a transformation</a>

326. M&A heading into Q4: How AI is reshaping value creation

As AI models become increasingly sophisticated, organizations and their leaders need to maintain awareness of the opportunities and challenges each new model can present. Specifically, the newest Frontier Lab LLMs are able to chain together and exploit vulnerabilities in even the most sophisticated organizations. Charlie Lewis and Marie-Claude Nadeau join us to discuss the threats posed by these models and how organizations can stay ahead of rapidly emerging cybersecurity challenges while also realizing their benefits.


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As AI models become increasingly sophisticated, organizations and their leaders need to maintain awareness of the opportunities and challenges each new model can present. Specifically, the newest Frontier Lab LLMs are able to chain together and exploit vulnerabilities in even the most sophisticated organizations. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/charlie-lewis">Charlie Lewis</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/marie-claude-nadeau">Marie-Claude Nadeau</a> join us to discuss the threats posed by these models and how organizations can stay ahead of rapidly emerging cybersecurity challenges while also realizing their benefits.
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<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/tech-and-ai/our-insights/the-top-trends-in-tech">McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2026</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/tech-and-ai/our-insights/the-top-trends-in-tech#cybersecurity-and-trustworthy-systems">Cybersecurity and trustworthy systems</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/risk-and-resilience/our-insights/the-speed-problem-how-frontier-ai-exposes-weakness-in-enterprise-cybersecurity">The speed problem: How frontier AI exposes weakness in enterprise cybersecurity</a>
<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/risk-and-resilience/our-insights/quantum-is-almost-here-are-you-and-your-systems-ready">Quantum is almost here: Are you and your systems ready?</a>
<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/risk-and-resilience/our-insights/deploying-agentic-ai-with-safety-and-security-a-playbook-for-technology-leaders">Deploying agentic AI with safety and security: A playbook for technology leaders</a>

225. Alex Gorsky, former chair and CEO of Johnson & Johnson

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