More than 700 new tech colleagues to join McKinsey in Atlanta

By Staff Writer Atlanta Trend

• Jul 30, 2022

By 2025, McKinsey will expand its workforce from 800 to 1500, creating a new Technology and Innovation Hub that will join its recently re-launched Digital Capability Center there. 

This growth in technical expertise reflects the next wave of consulting innovation: using the latest in tech and analytics to better serve its clients. “Two years ago, we made a commitment to expand and create a modern and diverse tech workforce. We knew this would mean hiring hundreds of new colleagues,” says Steve Reis, a senior partner who led the Atlanta office for four years. “As we looked at cities across the globe, Atlanta had a magical mix of both diversity and a large pool of tech talent from nearby universities, including four historically Black colleges and universities.”

In choosing Atlanta to make these investments, the firm is following an approach to increasing diversity that was covered in a recent McKinsey Quarterly article. The authors point out that Black workers are underrepresented in corporate roles beyond entry level, dropping from near parity to seven percent at the first promotion. They suggest businesses move to locations with a strong Black workforce rather than hoping Black talent will move to them.

In Atlanta, 51 percent of the population is Black. The city is also home to other underrepresented groups that offer opportunities for companies to increase the diversity of their workforces. Spanish and Korean are the second and third most common languages, for example, and the city boasts a vibrant LGBTQ community. Tiffany Burns is the senior partner who leads the Atlanta office today. “You will see and hear this difference between Atlanta and other cities the moment you arrive at the airport,” she says.

The newly expanded Digital Capability Center in Atlanta, formally re-launched this May, is a state-of-the-art facility that helps companies build expertise and capabilities they need to adopt next generation digital technologies. The Atlanta office also features a McKinsey Design-to-Value lab that helps clients improve the performance of products and services. “Aligning tech and consulting in one location," says Tiffany, “gives us the opportunity to deeply integrate and bring the best of our firm to our clients.”