Vik Malhotra (WG’86), McKinsey’s longest-tenured senior companion and former Chairman of the Americas, joined Wharton undergraduate pupil Muhammad Vakil (W’26), President of the Wharton Undergraduate Consulting Club and Head of the Wharton Undergraduate Communication Program TA Leadership Board, for a hearth chat in Huntsman Hall on the University of Pennsylvania campus.
The occasion was offered by the Wharton Undergraduate Consulting Club and Wharton Undergraduate PE&VC Club, in partnership with the Wharton Undergraduate Communication Program, The Investment Management Club, The MBA Consulting Club, Wharton GRC, and MUSE.
(Recorded November 13, 2025)
0:00 Introduction
0:45 How rising up in India and Cyprus formed Malhotra’s experiences
4:36 Key classes from his profession journey
10:28 How the annual management discussion board turned a catalyst for his e-book
12:40 What tasks ought to leaders prioritize most?
17:50 The generational exceptionalism fallacy
22:32 Interviewing CEOs by the laddering strategy
27:00 What makes a “great consultant” within the trendy age?
30:27 Approach to management
34:38 Questions undergrads and MBAs needs to be asking
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Vik Malhotra is a senior companion at McKinsey & Company and former Chairman of the Americas. From 2004 to 2017, Vik served on McKinsey’s board of administrators, chairing the People Committee and the Governance & Risk Committee. Vik has additionally served because the Managing Partner of the Americas, led the Senior Partner Review Committee and Professional Standards Committee, and led components of the Banking Practice and Insurance Practice. Vik joined the agency in 1986 and has spent his profession within the New York workplace.
During his time at McKinsey, his consulting expertise has coated a broad vary of assignments on efficiency transformation, company technique, enterprise unit technique, development methods, organizational effectiveness, and operational enchancment.
Much of Vik’s present focus is on counseling CEOs and Boards on a variety of points. He is co-author of the New York Times bestseller “CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest” and and the nationwide bestseller “A CEO For All Seasons.”
Vik can also be lively with main non-profits exterior McKinsey. He at the moment serves on the Wharton Board of Advisors and served as chair of the Wharton Graduate Executive Board. He can also be a trustee emeritus of The New York City Partnership, the Asia Society, and The Conference Board.
Before becoming a member of McKinsey, Vik graduated from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Prior to receiving his MBA, he labored on the accounting agency of Ernst & Whinney in London, England. Vik acquired his undergraduate diploma in economics from the London School of Economics in 1980.
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