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Sandra Durth

PartnerCologne

Drives stronger business performance by helping develop and guide transformational programs that inspire leaders and employees at all levels to adopt new ways of working, organizing, and leading

Sandra is a leader in our People & Organizational Performance Practice in Europe, focused on achieving lasting organizational performance improvement by transforming talent, leadership, and culture.

Since joining McKinsey in 2008, Sandra has helped organizations magnify and sustain the success of performance transformations by supporting individuals, teams, and leaders. She also leads McKinsey Academy Europe, designing and delivering leadership development and enterprise-wide capability-building initiatives, resulting in lasting change and holistic impact.

Drawing on an educational background in psychology, Sandra works closely with clients to inspire change, enhance leadership, and build capabilities that boost organizational health.

Examples of her recent client work include the following:

  • helping lead an enterprise-wide cultural and operating model transformation for a global life sciences organization, bringing new ways of working to more than 100,000 employees
  • designing and establishing a corporate university to help a global energy company reimagine its approach to people development
  • developing a change program for the 30,000 employees of a global medical technology company in support of a digital transformation
  • collaborating with a pharmaceutical company to design a new people strategy, including establishing a corporate university and leadership academy
  • establishing a “digital academy” at a chemicals company, building agile and analytical skills for executives and managers
  • transforming HR functions for companies across sectors to deploy technology and gen AI in service of an improved employee experience and organizational health and performance

Before joining McKinsey, Sandra worked in marketing analytics in the United States for five years. She is an accredited facilitator, fluent in German and English, and proficient in French and Dutch.

Published work

Gen AI’s next inflection point: From employee experimentation to organizational transformation,” McKinsey & Company, August 2024

A new future of work: The race to deploy AI and raise skills in Europe and beyond,” McKinsey & Company, May 2024

The human side of generative AI: Creating a path to productivity,” McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey & Company, March 2024

The organization of the future: Enabled by gen AI, driven by people,” McKinsey & Company, September 2023

Ask these questions to design the people model and culture of your organization,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, April 2023

The State of Organizations 2023: Ten shifts transforming organizations,” McKinsey & Company, April 2023

Closing the tech talent gap: Adopting the right mindset,” McKinsey & Company, March 2023

What’s your superpower? How companies can build an institutional capability to achieve competitive advantage,” McKinsey & Company, March 2023

Reimagining people development to overcome talent challenges,” McKinsey & Company, March 2023

HR’s new operating model,” McKinsey & Company, December 2022

Education

INSEAD
MBA, with distinction

Stanford University
BA, psychology & economics