Rodney W. Zemmel
Global Head of the Blackstone Operating Team
New York, New York, United States
41K followers
500+ connections
About
I am the Global Head of the Blackstone Operating Team. I lead a group of operating executives and functional leaders that partner with our 250 portfolio companies and their CEOs to help drive value for our investors across a wide range of areas such as talent, data science and AI transformation, cybersecurity, procurement, energy efficiency, operational excellence, and others.
Before joining Blackstone, I spent nearly three decades at McKinsey, most recently as the Global Leader of McKinsey Digital, which helps clients across a range of industries better harness the power of data and AI, modernize core technology, build new digital business, and fuel growth. I also led Firmwide AI Transformation at McKinsey, an effort to best deploy AI innovations across the company’s client service and operations. Previously, among other roles, I was the Managing Partner for McKinsey’s New York and Northeast offices in the United States.
I earned my BA/MA in Natural Sciences, First Class Honors, and my PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge. I am a coauthor of the books Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking Is Your Best Short-Term Strategy and the Wall St Journal best-seller Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI.
Articles by Rodney
Activity
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Today is my last day at McKinsey. I could not be more grateful for what the Firm has given me. I am a product of our values, collaborative culture…
Today is my last day at McKinsey. I could not be more grateful for what the Firm has given me. I am a product of our values, collaborative culture…
Liked by Rodney W. Zemmel
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Best thing I ever did was built my own private cloud enciroment, currently fully managed by my home grown assistant Kimbho. I givt it tasks from…
Best thing I ever did was built my own private cloud enciroment, currently fully managed by my home grown assistant Kimbho. I givt it tasks from…
Liked by Rodney W. Zemmel
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AI never stays in its lane. We call it a business tool, but its effects are personal. And the way we use it personally is increasingly someone’s…
AI never stays in its lane. We call it a business tool, but its effects are personal. And the way we use it personally is increasingly someone’s…
Liked by Rodney W. Zemmel
Experience
Education
Skills
Publications
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Components of digital transformation
McKinsey & Company
See publicationTransforming the core is difficult. In this video, I explore the six key elements at the heart of each successful digital transformation
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Safety and service in the packaging industry: An interview with the CEO of Sealed Air
McKinsey Interview
How the COVID-19 pandemic is changing customers’ needs—and how Ted Doheny's company is adapting its packaging solutions to address those needs.
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The digital-led recovery from COVID-19: Five questions for CEOs
McKinsey Article
A digital future lies ahead. By acting early and being bold and decisive, CEOs can accelerate their digital transformation and reach the next normal sooner.
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How leading CEOs manage their middle tenures
McKinsey Podcast
Five principles are useful in guiding CEOs in their third, fourth, and fifth years on the job.
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Leading for the long term
McKinsey Podcast
In this episode of the McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partner Rodney Zemmel and Mike Useem, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, talk with McKinsey Publishing’s Simon London about how senior executives can run companies for the long term while also managing demands for short-term performance.
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Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking Is Your Best Short-Term Strategy
Wharton Digital Press
Inspired by the CEO Academy®, the annual off-the-record gathering of chief executives organized by the authors, Go Long reveals how some of the world’s most prominent business leaders resisted short-term pressures to successfully manage their organizations for the long term, and in turn, aim to create more jobs, more satisfied customers, and more shareholder wealth.
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Accounting for the Cost of Health Care in the United States
McKinsey Global Institute
Patents
More activity by Rodney
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So incredible to be an Honoree and to be presented with the New York City Champions award from New York Cares at their annual gala last night. New…
So incredible to be an Honoree and to be presented with the New York City Champions award from New York Cares at their annual gala last night. New…
Liked by Rodney W. Zemmel
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Everyone’s Talking About AI. Very Few Are Getting Results. Leaving New York after great conversations about AI — and standing under the glass…
Everyone’s Talking About AI. Very Few Are Getting Results. Leaving New York after great conversations about AI — and standing under the glass…
Liked by Rodney W. Zemmel
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I really enjoyed this conversation with Liberty Mutual CEO Tim Sweeney that my friend and colleague Tanguy Catlin had, focused on innovation being an…
I really enjoyed this conversation with Liberty Mutual CEO Tim Sweeney that my friend and colleague Tanguy Catlin had, focused on innovation being an…
Liked by Rodney W. Zemmel
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We spent two days with Blackstone portfolio company CEOs focused on business building. For my session, I switched gears to building personal…
We spent two days with Blackstone portfolio company CEOs focused on business building. For my session, I switched gears to building personal…
Liked by Rodney W. Zemmel
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“If Waymo’s results are indicative of the broader future of autonomous vehicles, we may be on the path to eliminating traffic deaths as a leading…
“If Waymo’s results are indicative of the broader future of autonomous vehicles, we may be on the path to eliminating traffic deaths as a leading…
Liked by Rodney W. Zemmel
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I recently revisited a piece I wrote just after generative AI burst into the conversation three years ago. The technology has exceeded most…
I recently revisited a piece I wrote just after generative AI burst into the conversation three years ago. The technology has exceeded most…
Shared by Rodney W. Zemmel
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