McKinsey and Company: Short on Ethics, Far Reach

I have to apologize for the hasty/cobbled together look of this thread. I am short on time, but really wanted to get this information out there in hopes ATS can get some good sleuthing in

By now most of us have probably heard about Cuomo’s disastrous COVID directive which forced assisted living homes to accept COVID-positive patients, and that the deaths were under-reported by 4000.

What I had never heard until reading a random comment and then spending a couple of days looking into whatever information I could find on the matter, was the name of the company which gave Cuomo faulty advice that he cited when discussing his approach to COVID response.

Even more interesting is that this same company--McKinsey and Company--has its tentacles in many more questionable areas, and in many areas which might affect you and I as well. In fact, this consulting firm is everywhere, loyalty to no one.

I do believe the information I’ve found merits a more careful look at this company.
*McKinsey and Company overestimated the number of hospital beds and ventilators needed in NY by huge amounts:

“Right now in New York specifically the rate of the curve suggests that in 45 days we could have up to an input of 110,000 beds, people needing 110,000 beds that compares to our current capacity of 53,000 beds,” Cuomo said at a press conference on March 18.
New York ended up only reaching 17% of the number of hospital beds needed in McKinsey’s doomsday scenario, and 34% of those projected in the conservative estimate. Cuomo’s office said in a report released in May that the state peaked at 18,825 hospital patients on April 12.
The New York Times reported that the state reached its peak number of ventilators needed at 4,600, around 18% of McKinsey’s most optimistic prediction.

dailycaller.com...
If you have time to read through the links, McKinsey and Company were also responsible for the research which exonerated Cuomo (and, by extension, itself) for the nursing home deaths, blaming the care workers instead.
*McKinsey played huge role in founding and consulting for ENRON:

McKinsey's fingerprints can be found at the scene of some of the most spectacular corporate and financial debacles of recent decades. The energy-trading firm Enron was the creation of Jeff Skilling, a proud McKinsey consultant of 21 years. But this wasn't guilt by association. Enron, under Mr Skilling, was paying McKinsey $10m (£6m) a year for advice. McKinsey fully endorsed the dubious accounting methods that caused the company to implode in 2001.

www.independent.co.uk...
*McKinsey worked with the dictatorial Saudi regime to out dissidents. Brought the Saudi’s attention to three men who were influential on social media and outspoken against the Saudi regime. One of these men (Omar Abdulaziz) was working with Khashoggi against the “government trolls on twitter.”

“Who do they answer to?” McDonald asked. “They work for the F.B.I., the D.O.J., for ice, for Puerto Rico. They work for all the big banks. They work for everyone. It’s transnational.” He went on, “So something like South Africa happens. Who punishes a firm of their size and influence over something like that? McKinsey is so connected and so influential all over the planet, it’s kind of interesting to think about. Who’s the entity that says, ‘What are you doing?’ Apparently no one.”

www.independent.co.uk...

McKinsey and Company worked closely with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma throughout the opioid crisis:

One of McKinsey's proposals, outlined in a planning document but apparently never implemented, involved making secret payments to insurance companies up to $14,000 whenever a patient became addicted or overdosed in an "event" linked to Purdue's opioids.

Then tried to cover up their role:

"It probably makes sense to have a quick conversation with the risk committee to see if we should be doing anything other that [sic] eliminating all our documents and emails," McKinsey senior partner Martin Elling wrote in an email sent to another executive at the company. "As things get tougher here someone might turn to us."

www.npr.org...
McKinsey and Company works with the CCP, and held a company retreat mere miles from where the Uighurs are being imprisoned and tortured for their faith.
thefederalist.com...
McKinsey & Company: Short on Ethics; Far Reach

Here is the article with the comment that sparked this thread: www.dailymail.co.uk...-comments

thehill.com...
(Cuomo hired mckinsey)4/16/20
dailycaller.com...
(citing McKinsey to justify COVID response)
New Jersey and Pennsylvania--part of the same COVID response coalition as NY--also implemented disastrous policy regarding nursing homes/assisted living
www.pennlive.com... illed-thousands.html
Pennsylvania joins tri state coalition:
www.governor.ny.gov...#:~:text=March%2018%2C%2020 20-,Pennsylvania%20Joins%20New%20York%2C%20New%20Jersey%20and%20Connecticut's,Coalition%20to%20Combat%20COVID%2D19&text=Cuomo%2C%20New%20Jersey%20Gove rnor%20Phil,approach%20to%20combatting%20COVID%2D19.
March 18 2020

Enron is not the only financial disaster McKinsey had its claws in
www.independent.co.uk...


McKinsey has plenty of plans for our future (the next normal they call it) just look at this beautiful box apartment housing they have planned for us!

Next normal the high rise:
www.mckinsey.com...

Saudi Arabia:
www.newyorker.com...

Linking to Khashoggi’s murder:
www.nytimes.com...


McKinsey got rich off of COVID:
www.propublica.org...

Not surprising...

McKinsey is generally considered the most prestigious management consulting firm. Management consultants are behind most major corporate and govt decisions made. Every merger, govt policy, new product introduction, corporate strategy, corporate reorganization almost always has a management consulting firm involved at some point.

The company is well known to anyone who has worked in f500 or executive ranks. I think something like 30% or so of corporate CEOs have worked at McKinsey at some point. Pete Bootygig is a McKinsey alum. So is Susan Rice.

The company has been around like 100 years.

Other companies you'll hear about at Bain (Mitt Romney started their private equity group) and Boston Consulting Group.

I say not surprising as these companies typically hire extremely smart, young people who are good a crunching numbers but often lack common sense or real world experience. Most hires at these companies are Ivy Grads, Engineers... Rhodes Scholars. For every success, you'll find large failures too.

Often times, executives hire them for cover to make decisions.... Hey, McKinsey said do it and they can produce all kinds of charts and graphs to support the decision.

I speak from experience. I used to a consultant at a competitor many moons ago...

a reply to: zosimov

One thing I will say is that it isn't surprising the number of beds needed was over estimated. If you recall, at the beginning the model used by an academic to even make Covid an issue was widely criticized as being inaccurate. Remember the whole 2 million deaths!

Many looked at the model and pointed out the problems with the math. However, those stories were criticized and censored. Finally, the creator of the model quietly admitted it was wrong. MSM of course never really covered the story.

McKinsey probably used that model as a baseline in their prediction modeling.

Any chance this company helped the WHO reach their objective report on the virus in Wuhan with regards to release and initial transmission

a reply to: zosimov

Another competitor is Booz Allen Hamilton which is widely known for their work with government. Snowden was at Booz when he flipped...

McKinsey also hired Chelsea Clinton after she graduated from college....

R&B singer John Legend is a McKinsey alum too...

It's the same in the UK. They over estimated the figures and spent over £220.000 on the 1000 bed "Nightingale" hospitals and not one bed in any of them has been used. But they want to keep quiet about them.

Thanks for all the interesting/informative comments!
Edumakated, I'd heard about Buttigeig, but none of the others. Thanks for taking the time to add all that info!

originally posted by: Edumakated
Other companies you'll hear about at Bain (Mitt Romney started their private equity group) and Boston Consulting Group.

We're working with Bain right now and they are re-implementing the structure we had three years ago in an effort to 'recalibrate' the company. To say it's a Mongolian Cluster Intercourse is minimizing things.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Edumakated
Other companies you'll hear about at Bain (Mitt Romney started their private equity group) and Boston Consulting Group.

We're working with Bain right now and they are re-implementing the structure we had three years ago in an effort to 'recalibrate' the company. To say it's a Mongolian Cluster Intercourse is minimizing things.

Consultants take your watch and tell you the time...


There was a TV show called House of Lies that ran a year or two on consulting. This about sums up the industry...

a reply to: Edumakated

That was a great series.

a reply to: Edumakated

Is it safe to say that McKinsey has membership privileges at the World Economic Forum in Davos? I would bet yes.

originally posted by: Salander
a reply to: Edumakated

Is it safe to say that McKinsey has membership privileges at the World Economic Forum in Davos? I would bet yes.

Yup. All the major firms go to Davos or write papers for it.

Speaking of ethics, McKinsey got a serious black eye a few years ago because their CEO / Managing Partner Rajat Gupta was providing insider client info to his hedge fund buddies (He was also on Board of Goldman Sachs). Did two years in jail. Consultants are often privy to highly confidential information that can move the stock market (i.e., you know the company is about to buy a competitor).

It was a pretty big news story in the financial press at the time. He apparently just got out at end of 2019.

Rajat Gupta is Unrepentant for His Crimes

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Edumakated

That was a great series.

Yeah, Don Cheadle was good in it. I think consulting is too cerebral though for good television and since it is kind of a behind the scenes kind of industry, it probably went over most people's heads unlike say a show on law or Wall Street.

Average person has no reason to know about McKinsey. Bain was unheard of in middle America until Mitt Romney ran for President.

I enjoyed my time in the industry. Saw some amazing stuff and learned a lot while I figured out what I wanted to do career wise. A ton of hard work though (70-80 hours weeks are normal). The industries down fall though is their arrogance (smartest man in room syndrome).

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Edumakated

That was a great series.

Yeah, Don Cheadle was good in it. I think consulting is too cerebral though for good television and since it is kind of a behind the scenes kind of industry, it probably went over most people's heads unlike say a show on law or Wall Street.

Average person has no reason to know about McKinsey. Bain was unheard of in middle America until Mitt Romney ran for President.

I enjoyed my time in the industry. Saw some amazing stuff and learned a lot while I figured out what I wanted to do career wise. A ton of hard work though (70-80 hours weeks are normal). The industries down fall though is their arrogance (smartest man in room syndrome).

I need to watch this Ive seen companies spend bucks having an unqualified consultant tell them the companies problems, the same problems thier employees had been pointing out for years.

Then the consultant suggests implementing random fixes that takes loads of time to mature, or worse, suggests employee training and seminars.