300. The CEO’s agenda for thriving in the agentic age
From Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company
April 23, 2026 · 54 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of generative and agentic AI for CEOs and their businesses, emphasizing the need for strategic thinking across various domains to harness AI's potential.
Generative and agentic AI are moving rapidly from experimentation to enterprise-wide transformation—but many CEOs are still grappling with what this really means for their business. In this episode, McKinsey experts Tanguy Catlin , Sandra Durth , Lari Hämäläinen , and Antoine Montard examine why AI is being viewed as a true general-purpose technology, on par with past breakthroughs like electricity and the internet, and what that implies for competition, investment, and long-term value creation. We discuss the importance of thinking across strategy, technology, and organization to maximize the value from AI—and why focusing on productivity alone may not be enough to win. We also unpack the practical challenges leaders face and how to address them including redesigning workflows and operating models, managing large-scale workforce transitions, and building the skills and organizational capabilities needed to capture AI’s full potential. Related insights The agentic AI opportunity Building the foundations for agentic AI at scale Seizing the agentic AI advantage A Century of Plenty New MIT Sloan research suggests that AI is more likely to…
People in this episode
Guests: Tanguy Catlin, Sandra Durth, Lari Hämäläinen, Antoine Montard
Topics covered
- AI transformation
- CEO strategy
- organizational change
- productivity
- workforce management
- technology investment
Keywords
- generative AI
- agentic AI
- business strategy
- technology
- value creation
- workforce transition
- organizational capabilities
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: McKinsey & Company
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