Kate leads McKinsey’s holistic technology approach, advising organizations across all sectors on embracing and implementing technology and human change to create lasting value. In addition, she oversees the development of the technology tooling that empowers McKinsey’s own Firm members and enables teams to bring distinctive, tech-enabled solutions to clients.
As a recognized thought-leader and advisor to Fortune 500 and C-suite leaders, Kate specializes in digital and AI transformation, guiding leadership teams and individuals on becoming AI-native, fostering the necessary mindsets, capabilities, and understanding for successful and sustainable change. Kate codified her learnings over the past decades as a co-author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller, "Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI.”
Kate serves as member of McKinsey’s Enablement Team and Shareholders Council, or board of directors. She is also a member of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) Council, which advises on MGI research on global economic, business, and technology trends.
Outside of McKinsey, Kate serves as a trustee of Cancer Research UK, the world's largest independent cancer research organization, and was a trustee of Tommy's, the children's charity, for nine years. She holds a first-class degree in history from the University of Durham.
Video and Webinars
“The digital-value guardian: CEOs and digital transformations,” McKinsey & Company, December 2021
“McKinsey Live: Accelerating digital capabilities to recover from the COVID-19 crisis,” McKinsey & Company, July 2020
“The secrets to going digital,” McKinsey & Company, September 2015
Published Work
“Rewiring for the era of gen AI,” McKinsey & Company, October 2024
“Choose the right transformation ‘bite size’,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024
“MLOps so AI can scale,” McKinsey & Company, March 2024
“Ten unsung digital and AI ideas shaping business,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024
“What really works when it comes to digital and AI transformations?,” McKinsey & Company, July 2023
“Rewired to outcompete,” McKinsey Quarterly, June 2023
“The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier,” McKinsey & Company, June 2023
“Digital resilience: Consumer survey finds ample scope for growth,” McKinsey & Company, October 2022
“Why digital trust truly matters,” McKinsey & Company, September 2022
“Digital transformation on the CEO agenda,” McKinsey & Company, May 2022
“Cloud’s trillion-dollar prize is up for grabs,” McKinsey Quarterly, February 2021
“Think fast: How to accelerate e-commerce growth,” McKinsey & Company, November 2020
“How companies can win in the seven tech-talent battlegrounds,” McKinsey & Company, October 2020
“Driving digital change during a crisis: The chief digital officer and COVID-19,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020
“The digital-led recovery from COVID-19: Five questions for CEOs,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020
“How CFOs should drive digital transformation,” McKinsey & Company, February 2020
“Q&A with Kate Smaje,” (PDF–1.9 MB) McKinsey & Company, June 2017
“What's your digital quotient?,” HBR Ideacast, September 2015
“‘Transformer in chief’: The new chief digital officer,“ McKinsey & Company, September 2015
“Five habits for executives to become more digital,” McKinsey & Company, November 2014
“The seven traits of effective digital enterprises,” McKinsey & Company, May 2014
Past Experience
JPMorgan Chase
Analyst
Education
University of Durham
BA, history
