My Clients at McKinsey and My Commitment to You

I believe transparency is a quality the American people should expect from their president.

I also believe that the American people should be able to trust that their president will keep their word and commitments they’ve made.

To act on my values I have released all my tax returns since I completed my education, a standard that, unfortunately, no other candidate in this race has been willing to meet. It is also why I released a summary of my work at McKinsey even though it was my first job out of school where I had little decision making authority. It is also why I worked to be released from my confidentiality agreement with the firm, so that I could responsibly release this information, instead of accede to political pressure to violate the agreement.

Now, voters can see for themselves that my work amounted to mostly research and analysis. They can also see that I value both transparency and keeping my word. Neither of these qualities are something we see coming out of Washington, especially from this White House. It’s time for that to change.

At the same time, I am also concerned about efforts to demonize and disqualify people who have worked in the private sector for the sake of political purity. The majority of Americans have worked in the private sector at some point in their life. Good public servants — including recent Democratic presidents — have worked in the private sector at some point in their lives. I’m concerned about how these attacks pull the focus away from the very real issues voters across America are facing — from health care to gun violence — just as we are about to enter the most consequential election of our lifetimes.

The American people must be able to trust their leaders, and unfortunately transparency, honesty, and integrity are values lacking in the current administration. I intend to carry forward the values of transparency and responsibility with me to the White House, so that the American people can begin to trust their president again.

Timeline of my work as an Associate at McKinsey & Company

2007

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan: Working in Michigan for my first study, I worked on a project for the non-profit health insurance provider for approximately three months. I was assigned to a team that looked at overhead expenditures such as rent, utilities, and company travel. The project I was assigned to did not involve policies, premiums, or benefits. Because this was my first client study, it largely involved on-the-job training to develop skills in the use of spreadsheets and presentation software.

2008

• Loblaw’s: Working in the Toronto area, I served a grocery and retail chain for approximately six months. While there, I analyzed the effects of price cuts on various combinations of items across their hundreds of stores.
• Best Buy: Working in Chicago for approximately three months, I served a division of Best Buy on a project to investigate opportunities for selling more energy-efficient home products in their stores.
• I stepped away from the firm during the late summer and fall of 2008 to help full-time with a Democratic campaign for governor in Indiana, returning after the election.

2008–2009

• Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, other nonprofit environmental groups, and several utility companies: Working mostly in Connecticut, I worked on a project co-sponsored by several groups to research opportunities to combat climate change through energy efficiency. This work was published as a report entitled “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy”, which is publicly available and includes the full list of co-sponsors. I worked on this project from the winter of 2008 through spring of 2009.

2009

• The Energy Foundation: Working mostly in California, I served an environmental nonprofit group on a study to research opportunities in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
• U.S. Department of Defense: Working in Washington with visits to Iraq and Afghanistan, I served on a project for roughly three months focused on increasing employment and entrepreneurship in those countries’ economies.

2009–2010

• U.S. Postal Service: Working in Washington, I served the United States Postal Service working to identify and analyze potential new sources of revenue. This study, which lasted a few months, was my last study while at McKinsey.