McKinsey & Company keeps track of more than 65,000 alumni. It hosts about 180 alumni gatherings each year. It says roughly 90 percent of its former consultants take part regularly in at least some of these programs. In 2025 Fortune counted 18 current Fortune 500 CEOs who had worked at McKinsey.
Many alumni later work with the firm again, often as clients. One senior partner told Fortune: “There isn’t a single major client situation I’m in where there isn’t at least one McKinsey alum involved.” Another said: “When someone becomes a CEO and the stakes are high, they come back to the people they trust.”