How CEOs can navigate the new era of trade
6/4/202627 min
Tariff tumult. Shifting geopolitical alliances. AI acceleration. Structural shifts are reshaping global trade. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Shubham Singhal and McKinsey Partner Jeongmin Seong speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about how to adapt to the current phase of global trade reconfiguration—from where to manufacture to supply chain decisions—and how best to invest.
In the second half of this episode, McKinsey Senior Partner Kate Smaje joins Lucia to answer some audience questions from our last McKinsey Live webinar, based on the second edition of the book Rewired, about how to rewire your organization in the age of digital and AI.
This episode has been adapted from our McKinsey Live webinar series.
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First 90 secondsShubham Singhal· Guest0:00
[upbeat music] This idea of speed in an organization is becoming a real basis for competitive advantage in this era of volatility. Enter markets, exit markets, redeploy capital, move production, move different markets, move people. When a crisis erupts, be able to respond to that quickly.
Lucia Rahilly· Host0:21
That's McKinsey senior partner Shubham Singhal. As trade route shifts and geopolitical volatility continues, companies are rethinking how to respond. For example, The New York Times reported a company in Japan is shifting from color to black-and-white packaging due to shortages of naphtha, which is used for ink. Naphtha is scarce right now due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, and that's just one story about quick adaptation to geopolitical upset. But there is a lot that goes into making fast and strategic decisions in the face of this kind of tumult. Shubham joins me and McKinsey partner Jongmin Song to discuss what leaders need to do to stay ahead. [upbeat music] This is The McKinsey Podcast, where we help you make sense out of the world's toughest business challenges. I'm your host for today, Lucia Rahilly. [upbeat music] Yes, 2025 delivered a massive