Sergio Velasquez-Terjesen

McKinsey Office: Houston, Texas

Hometown: Maturin, Venezuela / Houston, Texas

MBA Program, Concentration: Harvard Business School

Undergraduate School, Major: Louisiana State University, Chemical Engineering

Focus of current engagement: Long-term corporate strategy related to climate change.

Why did you choose McKinsey?

1) McKinsey has been at the forefront of diversity & inclusion for decades. Long before my colleagues and I co-founded an LGBTQ+ group at my last employer in 2013, McKinsey had been convening and supporting LGBTQ+ employees since the ‘90s and offering benefits and protection worldwide, especially for our peers located in places not friendly to queer people. Not only do we embrace diversity in our own firm, but we counsel clients on inclusion. It is clear to me we practice what we preach when it comes to embracing the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and thoughts and we have better teams and better solutions for our clients as a result.

2) I like that McKinsey gives me autonomy and ownership of my path at the firm. Our office-driven staffing model helps me build my network and skills and opens up opportunities to engage with leaders in my areas of interest across North America and beyond. I’ve experienced this even in my short tenure. In addition, our flexible working programs, such as Take Time which gives us 5-10 extra weeks off, enable me to pursue interests outside of the firm, including immersive language courses abroad.

3) McKinsey’s non-hierarchical teams were a clear stand-out for me. I remember a problem-solving session during my summer when one of the business analysts disagreed with the partner on a path forward for a problem. Far from putting his foot down, the partner engaged in a dialogue to understand her point of view and how different paths might affect individual clients and the overall organization. Then, as a team, we collectively made a decision about how to move forward. This is only one example, and it shows me this is a place where all team members are valued for their contributions.

What did you love about the business school you attended? We have a truly world-class faculty and access to business leaders and experts beyond what I imagined when I accepted my offer of admission. I found myself at the table with CEOs of major retail and luxury brands, having discussions on everything from racial and body-type representation in advertising to the challenges of creating transparency in supply chains to measuring and improving environmental and social metrics across the value chain. Not to mention there was the richness of experiences my peers brought to discussions in and out of the classroom. I’m humbled by their breadth of backgrounds and willingness to share in an open, empathetic manner.

What lesson or skill did you learn from training at McKinsey and how has it helped in your role? Not to be hyperbolic, but Index (Match) will change your life. Index (Match) is a nested excel formula to perform table lookups, which is more powerful and flexible than Vlookup.

Tell us about an “only at McKinsey” moment you’ve had so far: My first study after rejoining the firm full time was on the State of Fashion report. This industry report co-authored with The Business of Fashion covers the fashion industry globally and across price points from mass to luxury. After years of reading the report, it was a dream come true to participate in the research and work with our Apparel, Fashion, & Luxury practice leaders to identify emerging trends in the fashion industry. In particular, I appreciate the work we have done on sustainability – engaging with clients on the subject, publishing work on sustainable supply chains in fashion and partnering with the Global Fashion Agenda to tackle the biggest challenges facing the industry.

What advice would you give someone interviewing at McKinsey? Don’t forget about the personal experience portion of the interview…it’s just as important as the case. We have a style of interviewing that seeks to go deep rather than broad. This can be different for some candidates, but spending time ahead of your interview thinking through examples in detail can go a long way to help you feel more comfortable and succeed on interview day.

Who has had the biggest impact on you at McKinsey and how has she/he helped you? The GLAM (LGBTQ+ at McKinsey) community has become a source of great friends and counselors. From the time I was a first-year at HBS, it was the GLAM community that drew me to McKinsey and embraced me as part of the family. Since being at the firm, I lean on these connections for everything from advice on staffing to doing Barry’s Bootcamp together when we’re in the same city. Now that I’m on the other side of recruiting, one of the most rewarding aspects of being at the firm is paying it forward for the next generation of GLAMmies.

My most meaningful achievement (professional or personal) and how it made a difference is…If I’m fully honest, there’s nothing I’ve achieved alone. Whatever I have achieved has always been the result of teamwork and support from my husband, brother, parents, mentors, and friends.

For example, I recently ran The New York City Marathon in support of the Movember Foundation, the leading charity addressing health issues faced by men – prostate and testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. I would not have succeeded had my McKinsey teams not accommodated my training schedule; had Trond (my husband) not been patient with my hours of going out for runs (and occasionally accompanying me); had he and my friends Lizzy (also HBS and McKinsey) and Natasha not been on the sidelines to cheer me on and give me snacks along the way; had my parents, my brother Al, and friends around the world (Jessica, Jochen, John…) not encouraged me from afar; had the organizers, volunteers, and spectators not put so much work and soul into the entire event; and had Freddy Mercury not been such a musical genius so Bohemian Rhapsody could carry me through the last mile to the finish line.

A fun fact about me is…I was a barista at a non-profit coffee shop in university. I created my own drink called the “Power Serge,” which is a play on “power surge” and a shortened version of my name. It was a frozen coffee drink with an extra two shots of espresso, chocolate syrup, and hazelnut – very much living up to its name, since the caffeine and sugar high were sure to make one crash soon thereafter.