James Manyika is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and chairman and director of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the firm’s business and economics research arm.
James is one of the leaders of McKinsey’s Global Technology, Media, and Telecom Practice. Based in Silicon Valley for over 20 years, he has worked with the chief executives and founders of many of the world’s leading technology companies on a variety of issues, including strategy and business transformation and the launch of several market-shaping innovations. James routinely collaborates with business leaders, economists, and policy makers around the world on initiatives and commissions related to inclusive growth, opportunities from technology, and its impact on society. At MGI, James has led research on technology and its impact on business and the economy, future of work, as well as growth, productivity, and global trends. He has published a book on AI and robotics, another on global trends, as well as numerous articles and reports that have appeared in business media and academic journals.
James was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as vice chair of the Global Development Council at the White House (2012–16) and by Commerce Secretaries to the US Commerce Department’s Digital Economy Board of Advisers (2016–17), as well as the National Innovation Advisory Board (2010–12) as part of the America Competes Act. He serves on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Markle Foundation.
James is interested in the power of technology to positively transform society and is a member of advisory boards of Oxford Internet Institute, MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, Khan Academy, and has been on other university advisory boards. He is on the standing committee for the Stanford-based 100 Year Study on Artificial Intelligence, a fellow at DeepMind, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
He is a trustee of the Aspen Institute and Harvard’s Hutchins Center which includes the WEB Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research. He was on the faculty at Oxford University and a member of the Programming Research Group and the Robotics Research Lab, a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, a visiting scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Labs, and a faculty exchange fellow at MIT. A Rhodes Scholar, James received his DPhil. MSc. MA. from Oxford in Robotics, Mathematics, and Computer Science, and his BSc. in electrical engineering from the University of Zimbabwe as an Anglo-American Scholar.
Video and broadcast
“We need to invest in human capital, Manyika says,” Bloomberg Surveillance, February 2018
“Productivity is poised to rise finally,” Marketplace, February 2018
“Economic reach of AI,” New York Times New Work Summit, February 2018
“The coming robot takeover,” Marketplace, December 2017
“How smart is today's artificial intelligence?,” VOX, December 2017
“Towards 2030, Session II: Manufacturing is not dead,” IMF, October 2017
“The future of economy and society,” Tallinn Digital Summit, September 2017
“America can bring back factories but few jobs,” Bloomberg Radio, June 2017
“Robot proof jobs,” Marketplace, April 2017
“The independent workforce is growing and it's growing fast,” Nightly Business Report, October 2016
“As automation advances, are jobs in danger?,” Science Friday, August 2016
“The power of gender parity,” Google re:Work, April 2016
“The digital economy,” Techonomy, November 2015
“Tom Friedman: Global forces breaking all the trends,” World Affairs Council, October 2015
“Countries that trade more grow better,” Bloomberg, May 2015
“Global trends and implications for sustainable development,” Mckinsey & Company, April 2015
Selected published work
“Globalization in transition: The future of trade and value chains,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2019
“China and the world: Inside a changing economic relationship,” McKinsey Global Institute, December 2018
“Applying artificial intelligence for social good,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2018
“Automation and altruism,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, November 2018
“Automation and the future of work,” Milken Institute Review, October 2018
“What's driving superstar companies, industries, and cities,” Harvard Business Review, October 2018
“‘Superstars’: The dynamics of firms, sectors, and cities leading the global economy,” McKinsey Global Institute, October 2018
“The promise and challenge of the age of artificial intelligence,” McKinsey Global Institute, October 2018
“The best performing emerging economies emphasize competition,” Harvard Business Review, September 2018
“Outperformers: High-growth emerging economies and the companies that propel them,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2018
“Notes from the frontier: Modeling the impact of AI on the world economy,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2018
“Technology convergence and AI divides: A simulation appraisal,” Vox EU, September 2018
“A decade after the global financial crisis: What has (and hasn’t) changed?,” McKinsey Global Institute, August 2018
“Solving the productivity puzzle,” Project Syndicate, May 2018
“Notes from the AI frontier: Applications and value of deep learning,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2018
“Solving the productivity puzzle: The role of demand and the promise of digitization,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2018
“The US economy is suffering from low demand,” Harvard Business Review, February 2018
“The false choice between automation and jobs,” Harvard Business Review, February 2018
“What AI can and can’t do (yet) for your business,” McKinsey Quarterly, January 2018
“Digital China: Powering the economy to global competitiveness,” McKinsey Global Institute, December 2017
“Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2017
“Making it in America: Revitalizing US manufacturing,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2017
“China can be a more influential force in digital world,” People's Daily, October 2017
“10 imperatives for Europe in the age of AI and automation,” McKinsey Global Institute, October 2017
“The case against corporate short-termism,” Milken Institute Review, September 2017
“Making it in America,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2017
“What's now and next in analytics, AI, and automation,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2017
“New insights into the slowdown in US productivity growth,” McKinsey Global Institute, March 2017
“What the rise of Uber says about the gig economy,” Fortune, February 2017
“Finally, evidence that managing for the long term pays off,” Harvard Business Review, February 2017
“25% of CEOs time is spent on tasks machines could do,” Harvard Business Review, February 2017
“We can't undo globalization, but we can improve it,” Harvard Business Review, January 2017
“Harnessing automation for a future that works,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2017
“The age of analytics: Competing in a data-driven world,” McKinsey Global Institute, December 2016
“Here's how to get the U.S. economy to grow 3.5% or more,” Fortune, December 2016
“Technology, jobs, and the future of work,” McKinsey Global Institute, December 2016
“Global migration’s impact and opportunity,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2016
“Robots and the future of jobs: The economic impact of artificial intelligence,” Council on Foreign Relations, November 2016
“How digital finance could boost growth in emerging economies,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2016
“Poorer than their parents? A new perspective on income inequality,” McKinsey Global Institute, July 2016
“Where machines could replace humans—and where they can’t (yet),” McKinsey Quarterly, July 2016
“Dean of disruption,” Intelligence, 2016
“When globalization goes digital,,” Project Syndicate, June 2016
“Putting profits in perspective,” Project Syndicate, May 2016
“Realizing gender equality’s $12 trillion economic opportunity,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2016
“Five priorities for competing in an era of digital globalization,” McKinsey Quarterly, May 2016
“The power of parity: Advancing women's equality in the United States,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2016
“Secular stagnation and low investment: Breaking the vicious cycle—a discussion paper,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2016
“Urban world: The global consumers to watch,” McKinsey Global Institute, March 2016
“Digital globalization: The new era of global flows,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2016
“How many of your daily activities could be automated,” Harvard Business Review, December 2015
“Digital America: A tale of the haves and have-mores,” McKinsey Global Institute, December 2015
“Four fundamentals of workplace automation,” McKinsey Quarterly, November 2015
“How advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to global growth,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2015
“The new global competition for corporate profits,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2015
“An executive's guide to the Internet of Things,” McKinsey Quarterly, August 2015
“Unlocking the potential of the Internet of Things,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2015
No ordinary disruption: The four global forces breaking all the trends, PublicAffairs, May 2015
“How do you govern a disrupted world?,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2015
“The four global forces breaking all the trends,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2015
“Connectivity for all,” Project Syndicate, January 2015
“The productivity challenge of an aging global workforce,” Harvard Business Review, January 2015
“2014’s Biggest, Wildest Ideas,” Ozy.com, December 2014
“A summit of opportunity,” Foreign Policy, August 2014
“Digital era brings hyperscale challenges,” Financial Times, August 2014
“Are you ready for the second machine age?,” The Huffington Post, January 2014
“Competition at the digital edge: ‘Hyperscale’ businesses,” McKinsey Quarterly, March 2015
“Harnessing the power of shifting global flows,” McKinsey Quarterly, February 2015
“Can long-term global growth be saved?,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2015
“Is GDP the best measure for growth?,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2015
“India's tech opportunity: Transforming work, empowering people,” McKinsey Global Institute, December 2014
“A productivity perspective on the future of growth,” McKinsey Quarterly, September 2014
“Lions go global: Deepening Africa’s ties to the United States,” McKinsey Global Institute, August 2014
“Brazil's path to inclusive growth,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2014
“Grow fast or die slow,” McKinsey & Company, April 2014
“The flow of value: An interview with Michael Spence,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2014
“Global flows in a digital age,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2014
“Lions go digital: The Internet’s transformative potential in Africa,” McKinsey Global Institute, November 2013
“Open data: Unlocking innovation and performance with liquid information,” McKinsey Global Institute, October 2013
“Urban world: The shifting global business landscape,” McKinsey Global Institute, October 2013
“Breaking the US growth impasse,” McKinsey Quarterly, August 2013
“Measuring the full impact of digital capital,” McKinsey Quarterly, July 2013
“Game changers: Five opportunities for US growth and renewal,” McKinsey Global Institute, July 2013
“Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2013
“India's internet opportunity,” McKinsey Global Institute, March 2013
“Manufacturing the future: The next era of global growth and innovation,” McKinsey Quarterly, November 2012
“Preparing for a new era of work,” McKinsey Quarterly, November 2012
“Capturing business value with social technologies,” McKinsey Quarterly, November 2012
“Debt and deleveraging: Uneven progress on the path to growth,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2012
Download list of selected publications by James Manyika (PDF – 293 KB)
Social Media
“In emerging economies, the next frontier for technology pioneers is financial inclusion,” LinkedIn, September 2016
Past experience
Oxford University
Engineering faculty
Balliol College, Oxford University
Research fellow
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Visiting scientist
MIT
Faculty exchange fellow
Education
Oxford University
DPhil, electrical engineering
MSc, mathematics
MA, computer science
University of Zimbabwe
BSc, electrical engineering (first class)