Joshua Reuben

McKinsey Office: Toronto, Canada

Hometown: Mumbai, India

MBA Program, Concentration: University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management, Consulting – Strategy & Operations

Undergraduate School, Major: University of Mumbai, Bachelor of Commerce – Accountancy, Audit & Financial Management

Focus of current engagement: Supply Chain Transformation

Why did you choose McKinsey? I knew McKinsey would provide me with the opportunity to create impact at scale while immersing myself in a rich learning environment. The relatively flat structure and level of ownership provided even to new associates added to this intellectual stimulation and feeling of real responsibility. I knew from my conversations with colleagues at the firm that the knowledge infrastructure and network served as a force multiplier to help me to have far more impact than I could ever have on my own. Being in this environment is a constant intellectual challenge and I love helping businesses, governments, and other organizations tackle their toughest questions.

Just as important, as an immigrant, it seemed like a place, more than any other, where I could be comfortable in my skin and bring my best self to work every day. Having been here for several months and over the summer of 2018, I can attest to the fact that McKinsey truly is a caring meritocracy.

What did you love about the business school you attended? Rotman provides opportunities for holistic development through the Self Development Lab and the Leadership Development Lab, which are part of the Desautels Centre for Integrated Thinking. There’s also the integrated curriculum that balances structured framework-based problem solving with behavioral and soft skills development. Lastly, the robust club ecosystem provides leadership opportunities and the chance to foster a caring community and pay it forward. I was president of the Management Consulting Association, so I got to work with the ~500 members, helping them explore consulting and prepare for recruiting. All these elements helped me become a more refined, self-aware version of myself.

What lesson or skill did you learn from training at McKinsey and how has it helped in your role? McKinsey focuses on understanding people’s personalities and we are trained to understand the preferences of people and how people with different personality traits can best interact. I have found this invaluable both in the team room and in a client context as it helps me better understand my colleagues and clients. There are multiple ways to be effective and being able to work well with different personalities has helped me work more efficiently with teams and clients in a way that is most likely to set them at ease while enabling me to effectively add value.

Tell us about an “only at McKinsey” moment you’ve had so far. At the start of a large transformation study, the senior leadership serving the client got the team together for a client experience discussion. They stressed that our job was not to go in and be the smartest people in the room. Instead, our goal was to support and assist clients to be as effective as they could be. This was followed up with specific guidelines such as having our client contacts take the lead to present the work to their senior management. We weren’t there to be better – we were there to help the client be better.

What advice would you give someone interviewing at McKinsey? Bring your full self to the interview. View your interview as a conversation among equals with the goal of solving a problem – even if your interviewer is a senior partner. After all, you will regularly engage with senior clients and need to be confident in the value you bring while remembering you are there to serve the client.

Also, don’t feel the pressure to know it all. Leverage your interviewer as we at McKinsey leverage our colleagues when we do not know something. While being self-sufficient is admirable, it is also important to show you are not afraid to ask for help when you need it.

Who has had the biggest impact on you at McKinsey and how has she/he helped you? As an Indian Jewish immigrant to Canada, I was definitely aware of cultural differences after I moved to Canada and was wary this would prevent me from being as confident as I could be bringing my best self to work. I got to know Sajal Kohli, a senior partner from the Chicago office, who visited our client and team room frequently as a senior leader of McKinsey’s North America retail practice. Seeing him do so well at the firm while being true to his roots led me to seek his counsel over coffee and his advice dramatically shaped my McKinsey experience.

He told me McKinsey and our clients do not care about where people are from, but instead what value they bring. He went on to share several anecdotes from his own experiences. He led me to see that McKinsey hired me for who I am and not to fit into a mold. That conversation did wonders for my confidence and ability to be comfortable in my own skin. It led me to understand I truly fit in and am valued for the things that actually matter.

My most meaningful achievement (professional or personal) and how it made a difference is…While at my previous organization, I led a large team of analysts and associates in what was a very fast-paced environment with a relatively high attrition rate. I care deeply about others and about helping others grow even if this doesn’t align with the priorities for the week. In my role, I created a working structure and plan that carved out time to give and receive feedback and to spend time on development areas every week. This translated to my team consistently having an attrition rate of less than half the practice average. It has been particularly satisfying to see some of those people I used to work with the rise to mid-management positions themselves and pay it forward by caring for the well-being of their teams.

A fun fact about me is…I’m one of about 4,000 Jews from India. Most people don’t even know we exist. Another fun fact is my passion for Formula 1 led me to inadvertently learn the national anthems of 10 countries, which I’m happy to sing for anyone who asks.