Michael Edwards is the global leader for Way We Work, McKinsey’s function responsible for the way the firm works. The function is dedicated to creating the operating system for the world’s best teams. Michael has spent 14 years at McKinsey, originally as a client serving Partner focused on Lifesciences. He has spent the last 6 years leading different parts of the People organization. In addition to his global role, Michael is the Director of People for McKinsey in the UK, Ireland, and Israel. Michael’s experience includes: • Development of McKinsey’s operating system for high performing teams. This is underpinned by research and analytics to identify the distinctive practices of high-performing teams • Research on hybrid working during and post COVID-19 lockdowns, to understand the impact of different co-location models on performance, experience, and apprenticeship • Creation of the onboarding journey for all new joiners to the firm, including their introduction to McKinsey ways of working • Reinvention of McKinsey’s problem-solving approaches, to embrace a much wider range of different client challenges and potential solutions • Research into human performance, particularly focused on populations with high intrinsic skills and motivation Michael has an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from University College London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.