McKinsey’s most recent partner class was our most diverse yet, bringing a broad range of experiences, skills, and talents. The class comes from nearly every corner of the world, representing 90 different offices, all our practices, and our McKinsey Black Network, Hispanic and Latino Network, Asians at McKinsey, and Equal at McKinsey (for LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies) affinity groups.
Among the new partners, we saw more than 100 women this year. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate Women’s History Month than to introduce you to three women consultants who have just taken this leadership role. Keep reading to learn how they achieved this exciting milestone in their careers.
Maria Helo – Bogota
I am an industrial engineer who joined the firm in 2006 after completing my MBA at the New York University Stern School of Business. Before McKinsey, I worked for the Central Bank of Colombia in the Foreign Reserves Department as a risk analyst. I am now one of the core leaders of the People and Organization Practice in Spanish LatAm serving clients across the region to strengthen their corporate governance, organizational and financial performance, and leadership and management capabilities.
I always imagined pursuing a career in finance; however, I fell in love with organizational design after doing a couple of projects in the space early in my consulting career. I have spent time helping our clients leverage their human capital to improve performance in a sustainable way, while positively impacting their employees.
McKinsey has given me the flexibility to shape my own path through multiple roles and working arrangements to accommodate my professional passions and personal priorities. After four years in consulting, I moved into an internal role and became a professional development manager in Spanish Speaking LatAm. This enabled me to travel less and have a more predictable schedule so I could dedicate more time to my family in a way that worked for us. After seven years in that role, I returned to consulting, working on a 60-80% part-time program.
I didn’t follow the traditional path to partner, and it may have taken me longer to get here, but I appreciate that McKinsey offered a path that worked for me. This approach is becoming more and more common at the firm, especially as our global managing partner, Bob Sternfels, encourages us to shift our focus to a development culture.
Swarna Ramanathan – London
I started my career in India after completing a mechanical engineering degree from Osmania University. I spent several years in the automotive sector, working for General Motors in India and the US. Later, I moved to Germany and spent a few years in the digital design development of cars. I am now a partner in McKinsey’s Operations and Automotive & Assembly practices.
I first learned of McKinsey when I was at INSEAD, working on my MBA. The opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment on multiple topics in the sector I love, while being around bright people whom I could learn from drew me to the firm.
I’ve been with McKinsey for 10 years, and I continue to pursue my passion in the transport and automotive sector. Most of my work focuses on transformation of the transportation sector and the electrification of vehicles. It’s amazing to see the results of my work as it is helping the whole transportation sector change. As rewarding, my family and friends now seek my advice on buying electric cars, and the impact of my work has become more real because I see people I care about benefiting from it.
It’s important to note, I would not be where I am today without the sponsors at McKinsey who made sure I was seen and given the right opportunities to advance. While Advanced Industries is still a male-dominated sector, women are present, and our numbers are growing.
Jan Shelly Brown – New Jersey
I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and came to the US to study computer science at Howard University. Before McKinsey, I was a software engineer. I always wanted to work for an organization that used technology to improve life across the board. I went to Wall Street to work as a developer for Goldman Sachs, where I realized I wanted accelerated career growth, so I went to Berkeley for an MBA. That’s where I was introduced to McKinsey. I am now a partner in McKinsey Technology, and I have worked on projects that were ground-breaking for the client and cutting-edge for the firm.
What attracted me to McKinsey is its view of technology through a strategic lens. That aligns with my values. Additionally, I tend to build deep, long-standing relationships, and McKinsey enables that. Seeing my clients mature and transform—not just handing them a strategy but helping them implement it—energizes me.
Diversity and inclusion within the firm is also a big priority for me. I belong to a field that’s not dominated by women, let alone by Black women. That’s why I lead our Affinity, Diversity & Inclusion efforts within McKinsey Digital. I’m also active in the McKinsey Black Network community. Much of my focus is spent on retaining and recruiting diverse candidates and making sure our colleagues succeed individually and as a cohort.
Learn more about our women partners
Many of our new partners used McKinsey’s flexibility and mobility programs to advance and others were hired as direct elects, proving there are many successful paths to partner.
Learn more about the amazing women who became partners last year here.