After graduating as a telecommunications engineer, my first job was to write adaptive beam forming algorithms for smart antenna systems. Sadly, within days, I realized I could not do that for the rest of my life. My curiosity in cultures and passion for art led me to a career in design. For the next decade and a half I worked in London, New York, and the Middle East on some of the biggest brands in film, advertising, and digital.
Taking the plunge
Two years ago, I was running an agency in Dubai when I came across McKinsey. My initial reaction was ’why does a consulting firm need a designer?’ Still, I felt something was missing in my life, even though I was designing and building successful products and helping startups scale—so I took the plunge.
I learnt I could do the same things I was doing at McKinsey. I could enjoy the same open culture, and retain the freedom to innovate. I could benefit from a more multi-disciplinary approach through which I could combine my creative soul with my analytical brain, problem solving with clients to help them scale, build capabilities, and drive real results.
Helping transform organizations through design
Two years into my McKinsey journey, I have helped organizations in Africa transform into customer-centric powerhouses, designed citizen-centric e-government solutions, and built an award-winning digital attacker bank from the ground up.
Working at McKinsey has allowed me to travel to 16 new countries; and explore new cultures, cuisines, art, and architecture—which helps me better understand the world around us. I regularly see new problems faced by consumers, and that inspires me in my day-to-day creative work.
Outside work
When not in a boardroom evangelizing design with clients and delivering workshops, I spend time with my three-year-old son solving mysteries playing Paw Patrol or catching up with friends over shisha.
About KashiffBased in Abu Dhabi, Kashiff is a McKinsey design director and consultant. Prior to joining McKinsey, he was as a managing director at Sixth Frame. Kashiff also has served as a user experience consultant and software engineer at a variety of tech and travel organizations, including Microsoft and Emirates.
For more information on McKinsey's design career paths, visit mckinsey.com/TechCareers.