McKinsey expands its presence in Uzbekistan and Central Asia
McKinsey Global Managing Partner Bob Sternfels visited Tashkent. Senior Partner Semyon Yakovlev will lead the company's work in Uzbekistan.
McKinsey expands its presence in Uzbekistan and Central Asia
International consulting firm McKinsey & Company plans to expand its work in Central Asia, with a special focus on developing business in Uzbekistan.
As part of this course, the company's Global Managing Partner Bob Sternfels visited Tashkent.
Since 2013, McKinsey has been cooperating with public, private, and social sector organizations in Central Asia.
During this period, the company has built a regional team that combines knowledge of local markets with the international expertise of McKinsey, which is represented in more than 65 countries.
During the visit, Sternfels and the company's regional leaders met with representatives of government bodies, businesses, clients, and employees. The talks touched upon Uzbekistan's development prospects, including in mining, energy, the financial sector, and digital infrastructure. Training qualified personnel was a separate item of discussion.
Sternfels noted that Uzbekistan is among the economies undergoing the most large-scale transformations. He emphasized the company's interest in further expanding its activities in the country, strengthening the local team, and training future McKinsey leaders in Tashkent.
The management of McKinsey's work in Uzbekistan has been entrusted to the company's Senior Partner Semyon Yakovlev. He will be based in Tashkent and will be responsible for strategic business development and the implementation of client projects.
Yakovlev has over 20 years of experience working in South Korea, China, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries. Prior to his appointment, he led McKinsey's Strategy & Corporate Finance Practice in Asia.
Partners Dulatbek Ikbayev and Yermolai Solzhenitsyn will also take part in developing the company's business in Uzbekistan. For more than ten years, Ikbayev has been advising government entities, financial institutions, and major companies in Central Asia on transformation and socio-economic development issues.
Solzhenitsyn, a Senior Partner at McKinsey, has more than 20 years of experience implementing strategic and transformational projects in metallurgy, mining, energy, and transport.
Yakovlev stated that the company intends to pay special attention to the professional growth of young specialists and to continue cooperation with the country's leading enterprises. According to him, Uzbekistan's young and growing population opens up additional opportunities for economic and social development.
Advanced technologies and artificial intelligence were named among McKinsey's priorities in the country. To support this work, the company plans to leverage the expertise of its QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey division.
Another focus area will be the development of professional skills taking into account the changing requirements of the labor market. In particular, the company intends to continue implementing its global educational program, Forward.
According to McKinsey, more than 1,500 young professionals from Central Asia and about 290,000 people worldwide have completed training under this program. Participants gain practical skills in demand in today's labor market.